Vikramjit Singh, Wesley Barresi set up huge win for Netherlands

Vikramjit Singh's maiden century trumped Ayaan Khan's unbeaten 105 as Netherlands managed to keep their World Cup hopes alive with a 74-run thumping of Oman in a rain-affected game in Harare. Ayaan kept the fight going for win-less Oman, but the target of 363 proved too tall a mountain to climb.

Rain had shortened the game to 48-overs-a-side affair, and the Netherlands opener played the aggressor in the 117-run stand with his opening partner Max O'Dowd (35). He raised his maiden triple figure score in ODI cricket off 102 balls, but fell soon after. However, Wesley Barresi had taken charge then. The Netherlands no. 3 was unlucky to miss out on a hundred by just three runs, but his 65-ball assault on Oman - laced with 10 fours and three sixes - put Netherlands comfortably past the 300-run mark.

Cameos from Bas de Leede (39 off 19) and Saqib Mulfiqur (33 off 17) ensured their total was a stiff 362/7 from the 48 allotted overs.

Oman's tall chase got off to a rocky start with them losing two wickets inside the powerplay itself, including their captain Aqib Ilyas. Ayaan then held one end together enroute his 92-ball unbeaten 105, and found supporting hand from Shoaib Khan (46 off 61). But the scoreboard pressure and asking rate kept spiking. Shoaib succumbed to it, four short of what could have been his fifty, but Ayaan raced to the milestone in just 84 balls.

Not that they were anywhere close, but bad light halted play when Oman were on 246/6 with four overs remaining. The weather had the final say and Netherlands picked up their second win of the Super Sixes to stay afloat in the competition.

With Sri Lanka already through, there's an intense race for the second qualification berth. Netherlands now need Zimbabwe to lose to Scotland and will obviously need to win their final game to stand a chance of going through.

Brief scores: Netherlands 362/7 in 48 overs (Vikramjit Singh 110, Wesley Barresi 97; Bilal Khan 3-75) beat Oman 246/6 in 44 overs (Ayaan Khan 105, Shoiab Khan 46; Aryan Dutt 3-31) by 74 runs (DLS method, match reduced to 48 overs per side)