T20 WC: Clinical Scotland qualify for Super 12s with unbeaten record, beat Oman by 8 wickets
Al Amerat, Oct 21: An impressive Scotland crushed Oman by eight wickets to register their third consecutive win in the first round and qualify for the T20 World Cup Super 12 stage by topping Group B here on Thursday.
Scotland, who had stunned Bangladesh by six runs before beating Papua New Guinea by 17 runs in their previous matches, remained unbeaten and finished their group encounter with six points.
Besides Scotland, Bangladesh also qualified for the Super 12s from the group by finishing second with four points. Hosts Oman and PNG are out of the tournament.
Scotland are now placed alongside India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan and an yet-to-be decided second-placed team from Group A in Group 2 of the Super 12s.
Bangladesh find themselves in Group 2 alongside England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka.
In Thursday's match, Scotland first dished out a clinical bowling effort to bundle out Oman for a below-par 122 after being asked to bowl.
The chase turned out to be a cakewalk for Scotland as they reached the target with as many as three overs to spare.
Skipper Kyle Coetzer made an attacking 28-ball 41 with the help of two boundaries and three sixes, while George Munsey (20) and wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Cross (26 not out) also played good hands.
Towards the end, Richie Berrington struck some lusty blows en route to an unbeaten 31 that came off just 21 balls and was laced with one boundary and three hits over the fence.
Berrington finished off the chase in style, hitting Mohammad Nadeen for a four and a six.
Earlier, Oman lost two quick wickets -- Jatinder Singh and Kashyap Prajapati -- after opting to bat in the must-win game before Aqib Ilyas (37 off 35 balls) and Mohammad Nadeem (25 off 21) stabilised the innings with a 38-run third-wicket stand.
But Scotland pulled things back, removing both Ilyas and Nadeem, who perished in search of one too many just after clobbering Mark Watt over the boundary.
Sandeep Goud (5) and Naseem Khushi didn't help their side's cause either as Oman kept losing wickets at regular intervals to reach 98 for six after 16 overs.
Skipper Zeeshan Maqsood (34 off 30) tried his best to push the scoring rate but Scotland bowlers didn't give Oman batters any leeway.
Josh Davey (3/25), Michael Leask (2/12), Safyaan Sharif (2/25) and Mark Watt (1/23) were the wicket takers for Scotland.
In fact, Davey's final over resulted in three Oman wickets, including a run out.
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India & Israel elevate ties to special strategic partnership, vow to soon conclude free trade deal
Jerusalem (PTI): India and Israel on Thursday elevated their "time-tested" relationship to a special strategic partnership and agreed to soon firm up a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed the Gaza peace initiative, asserting that humanity must never become a victim of conflict.
Following talks between Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, the two sides inked a plethora of agreements to expand cooperation in areas of trade, agriculture, energy, cyberspace and digital payment.
India and Israel also vowed to expand their already close defence partnership by working towards joint development and joint production of military hardware under the framework of the transfer of technologies.
In his media statement, Modi said India's security interest is linked to peace and stability in the Middle East, adding that New Delhi fully supports the Gaza Peace Initiative.
"India's stance is clear: humanity must never become a victim of conflict. A path to peace has been created through the Gaza Peace Plan. India has fully supported these efforts," he said.
"In the future as well, we will continue dialogue and cooperation with all countries," he said.
PM Modi landed in Israel on Wednesday on a two-day visit. It is his second visit to Israel in nine years.
In his remarks, the prime minister said India and Israel have a united view that there is no place for terrorism in the world and both sides stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering terrorism and its supporters.
"Our relationship is founded on the strong bedrock of deep trust, shared democratic values, and human sensitivities. Our bond has stood the test of every trial of time," he said.
"Today, we have taken the historic decision to elevate our time-tested partnership to the status of a 'Special Strategic Partnership'," he said.
The prime minister also announced the establishment of an India-Israel critical and emerging technologies partnership to impart a new momentum for cooperation in areas of artificial intelligence, quantum, and critical minerals. "I am pleased that an agreement has been reached for the use of UPI in Israel," he said.
The prime minister, referring to the threat of terrorism, said India and Israel will continue to confront the menace unitedly.
"India and Israel are completely clear that there is no place for terrorism in the world. In any form, in any expression, terrorism cannot be accepted," he said.
"We have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in opposing terrorism and its supporters, and we will continue to do so," he added.
India and Israel also discussed the implementation of the India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and cooperation under the framework of I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA).
