BASSETERRE, Saint Kitts And Nevis — Captain Mihir Patel scored 96 in a losing cause Saturday as Canada was beaten by 49 runs by the United Arab Emirates in their opening match at the ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup.
The Emirates won the toss and elected to bat first at the Conaree Sports Club, scoring 284 runs at the expense of seven wickets in their 50 overs. Ali Naseer led the attack with 73 runs including five fours and four sixes in his 50-ball innings.
Canadian bowlers Parmveer Kharoud and Gurnek Johal Singh each took two wickets.
Patel hit eight fours and added two sixes in his 115-ball knock. But the Canadian men could not score runs quickly enough and lost their four wickets for 34 runs as they went down swinging.
Patek, a second-year finance student at York University, was eventually caught off an Alishan Sharafu delivery — the last Canadian wicket to fall.
Anoop Chima added 46 for Canada while Kaifrav Sharma contributed 43 as Canada was all out for 235 in 46.4 overs.
Canada is making its fifth straight appearance -- eighth overall -- at the tournament. It has yet to make it past the first round with an 11th-place finish in 2010 its best showing.
Canada was beaten by the Emirates in the group stage at the 2020 tournament in South Africa but avenged that defeat in the 13th-place playoff. Patel scored 90 runs off 105 balls in the eight-wicket loss to the Emirates.
The 16 teams have been split into four groups with the top two in each advancing to the Super League and the remaining sides moving on to the Plate playoffs. The competition runs through Feb. 5 across four Caribbean countries.
The Canadians, who beat out Argentina, Bermuda and the U.S. to get to the tournament, face England on Tuesday before taking on defending champion Bangladesh next Thursday in Group A play.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2022
The Canadian Press
