HARARE-Group A of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023 saw Zimbabwe take two crucial points to the Super Six stage after they beat West Indies, while Netherlands also secured a spot for the next stage of the tournament with a win over Nepal.
Sikandar Raza put on a brilliant all-round show and propelled Zimbabwe to a stunning 35-run victory over West Indies in the 13th match of the CWC Qualifier. In a hill-hill Group A clash, hosts Zimbabwe handed a 35-run thrashing to former champions West Indies and solidify their grasp on the top spot in the standings.
Dynamic all-rounder Sikandar Raza was the star of the show as he backed his sensational 68-run knock with two wickets and earned the Player of the Match award for his brilliance. Put into bat first, Zimbabwe accumulated a par 268-run total before bundling out in the final over. 
Raza top-scored for Zimbabwe with a brisk 58-ball 68 which included six boundaries and two sixes while Ervine struck 58-ball 47 and Ryan Burl scored 50 off 57 balls, laced with five boundaries and a six. Keemo Paul clinched three wickets while Alzarri Joseph and Akeal Hosein took two wickets each.
Set to chase 269, West Indies could only raise 233 before being bowled in the 45th over despite Kyle Mayers’s 56 off 72 balls, laced with eight boundaries and a six. Roston Chase also batted well, scoring 44 runs while Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran hit 34 and 30 respectively. 
Meanwhile in another match of the day, after their bowlers had bowled out Nepal for 167, Max O’Dowd & co. ensured that there were no slip-ups in the Dutch batting effort. With this Netherlands have qualified for the Super Six, while Nepal’s World Cup qualification hopes have ended.
After sending Nepal to bat first, the Dutch bowlers trounced on their batting lineup and booked them for a skimpy 167 as van Beek led the attack with a four-for. Skipper Rohit Paudel struck 33 off 55 balls while Kushal Bhurtel and Sandeep Lamichhane scored 27 each. Logan van Beek grabbed four wickets.
Set to chase 167, the Netherlands comfortably completed the pursuit for the loss of just three wickets and 137 balls to spare. Opening batter Max O’Dowd hit brisk 90 runs while Vikramjit Singh scored 30 and Bas de Leede 41*. The seven-wicket victory over Nepal powered the Netherlands to storm into the Super Sixes stage of the CWC Qualifier while their opponents ran out of contention.