The United Arab Emirates beat Oman by 42 runs on Wednesday in the final match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 at the ICC Academy in Dubai, though Oman still clinched the fourth and final automatic spot in the 2027 Cricket World Cup Qualifier. Batting first in Match 145 of the 2023-27 cycle, the UAE posted 226/8 in 50 overs and held Oman to 184/9 in 50 overs, according to live Hindustan Times and Cricbuzz scorecards.
Even in defeat, Oman reached their primary target during the second-innings chase. By passing the 103-run mark, Oman kept their net run rate ahead of fifth-placed Namibia to finish fourth in the eight-team table on 33 points from 36 matches. The International Cricket Council confirmed the qualification under the headline “Oman clinch final automatic spot in CWC27 Qualifier.”
The result locks in the split for the next stage of 2027 One Day International World Cup qualification. Oman advance directly to the 10-team ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2027 alongside League 2 winner the USA (49 points), second-placed Scotland (45 points) and third-placed the Netherlands (44 points). The bottom four teams in League 2 (Namibia, Nepal, Canada and eighth-placed the UAE) now head to the eight-team Qualifier Play-off to fight for their tournament survival.
How the UAE built 226/8 in the first innings
Oman captain and wicketkeeper Vinayak Shukla won the toss and chose to field first, and left-arm spinner Shakeel Ahmed gave the visitors an early edge by taking two wickets in the seventh over on his way to team-best figures of 3/42 across 10 overs. Opener Muhammad Waseem gave the hosts quick runs at the top with 29 off 28 balls, hitting four fours, while Akshdeep Nath added 16 off 34 balls and Awais Ali Shah scored 12 off 31 balls.
Captain Rahul Chopra steadied the middle order with 47 off 79 balls, hitting two fours. Wicketkeeper Adeeb Usmani matched Chopra’s 47 but did it off 53 balls with one four and three sixes, and Basil Hameed struck 43 off 45 balls with three fours and two sixes, CricMind reported. Aayan Afzal Khan chipped in 18 off 21 balls to push the total to 226/8. For Oman, Hassnain Shah (2/53 in 10 overs), Samay Shrivastava (2/53 in 10 overs) and Jay Odedra (1/41 in 10 overs) split the remaining wickets.
Oman’s chase and the 103-run qualification mark
Chasing 227 for an outright win, or at least 104 runs to stay ahead of Namibia on net run rate, Oman collapsed to 68/5 in 24.1 overs. Aamir Kaleem fell for 12, Karan Sonavale for 5, Jatinder Singh for 3 and Shukla for 10, while Hammad Mirza made 29 off 59 balls before departing.
A 64-run sixth-wicket stand between Mujibur Ali (listed as Imran Ali on Google Sports Data scorecards) and Narayan Saishiv rescued Oman’s qualification campaign. The pair carried the total past the 103-run threshold and took Oman to 132/6 in the 39th over before Saishiv was dismissed for 20 off 42 balls. Ali top-scored in the match with 65 off 84 balls, hitting five fours and one six, before Rahul Chopra caught him off Khuzaima Bin Tanveer.
Four UAE bowlers finished with two wickets apiece to close out the 42-run win: Awais Ali Shah (2/27 in 10 overs), Muhammad Rohid (2/21 in 7 overs), Tanveer (2/21 in 7 overs) and Aayan Afzal Khan (2/31 in 9 overs). Hameed took 1/49 in 10 overs to go with his 43 runs, earning Player of the Match honors.
Final League 2 standings and the road to 2027
The Dubai tri-series at the ICC Academy ran from October 25 to November 4 and closed out the 2024-2026 League 2 cycle. Entering Wednesday’s finale, Oman sat fourth on 33 points with a -0.202 net run rate after losing to the Netherlands by seven wickets (182 all out to 183/3) on November 2. That defeat had left Oman tied on 33 points with Namibia (-0.278 net run rate), who had already finished all 36 of their fixtures.
For the UAE, coached by Lalchand Rajput, Wednesday’s victory was their third straight win after dropping their tri-series opener to the Netherlands (244/8 to 245/7 on October 25). The hosts beat Oman by four wickets (199/6 to 196) on October 29 and defeated the Netherlands by five wickets (266/5 to 263/4) on October 31, finishing eighth on 25 points from 36 matches.
Namibia (33 points), sixth-placed Nepal (30 points before their final calculation), seventh-placed Canada (29 points) and the UAE (25 points) will now contest the eight-team ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off alongside Challenge League Group A qualifiers Jersey and Kuwait and Group B qualifiers Italy and Uganda. The top four finishers from that play-off will advance to join Oman, the USA, Scotland and the Netherlands in the 10-team ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2027.