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Fish-farmer lifts Namibia

Dubai - Big-hitting fish-farmer Louis van der Westhuizen hit a century as Namibia trounced Scotland in the World Twenty20 qualifiers on Wednesday to rack up a second win in two matches.

Nepal's wrist-spinner Shakti Gauchan grabbed a share of the headlines with a hat-trick in his team's win over Denmark, while defending champions Afghanistan also celebrated a second win in the 16-nation tournament.

Van der Westhuizen, 23, hit an unbeaten 54-ball 106 (eight fours, eight sixes) against Scotland as Namibia claimed a 49-run win.

His knock helped Namibia put on 192-3 in their 20 overs, while Scotland ended up at 143-8.

"I really feel that I am seeing the ball well and hitting it with confidence," said van der Westhuizen.

"The confidence of the side is high and we have a really good team spirit, which means I feel like I have the freedom to play.

"We had two big games up first (Ireland and Scotland) and to win those were our first goals and from now on it is game by game for us."

Gauchan claimed a hat-trick in a spell of four for 20 to lead Nepal to a crushing nine-wicket victory over Denmark.

Gauchan claimed the wickets of Rizwan Mahmood, Aftab Ahmed and Kamran Mahmood in the 13th over to record the first hat-trick of the ongoing tournament.

"I have taken one hat-trick in domestic cricket before, but this is my first international hat-trick," he said.

"It was a very good time to take a hat-trick in a match for me. When I took my hat-trick, I ran away from the wicket and slid on my chest like a football player."

Afghanistan beat the Netherlands by four wickets after a fine half-century by Mohammad Shahzad, Canada registered a seven-wicket win over Papua New Guinea (PNG), Uganda scripted a second hard-fought win when they defeated Oman, and Hong Kong surprised Bermuda by eight wickets.

"We had a clear plan when we out for the chase. I think it worked out well because I had to do the hitting," said Man of the Match Shahzad, who hit 54.

"Others like Nawroz Mangal and Mohammad Nabi batted around me.

"I think 150 was a good score to chase since this effort will come in handy during the later stages of the tournament. The team is buoyed by this effort and wants to keep up the momentum."

Ireland registered a comprehensive 10-wicket win over Kenya, while Italy scored a narrow eight-run success over the United States.

Two teams will eventually qualify from the tournament for the World Twenty20 finals in Sri Lanka in September and October.

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