The United States national cricket team defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by six wickets in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 on Tuesday, successfully chasing a target of 331 runs. This victory propelled the USA to the top of the league standings, while the UAE remains at the bottom.
Milind Kumar, a right-handed batsman for the United States national cricket team, scored an unbeaten 116 runs from just 84 balls. His innings included seven fours and five sixes, earning him the Player of the Match award for his decisive role in reaching the target. Shubham Ranjane, an Indian-American all-rounder for the United States national cricket team, also remained unbeaten on 57 runs from 49 balls, hitting two fours and three sixes.
Earlier in the chase, Monank Patel, the current captain and wicketkeeper-batsman of the United States men’s national cricket team, contributed 55 runs, and Saitja Mukkamalla, an American professional cricketer who primarily plays as an opening batsman for the United States national cricket team, added 56 runs. After Mukkamalla’s dismissal as the fourth wicket, Ranjane joined Kumar at the crease, and their unbroken partnership guided the USA to victory in 48.5 overs.
Batting first after winning the toss, the UAE posted a formidable total of 330 for eight wickets in their allotted 50 overs. Muhammad Shahdad was the top scorer for the UAE, making 114 runs from 107 balls, including nine fours and three sixes. Tanish Suri contributed 78 runs, and Adeeb Usmani scored 36. Basil Hameed, an Emirati all-rounder of Indian origin who plays for the United Arab Emirates national cricket team, remained unbeaten on 24 runs.
For the USA, Harmit Singh, a player for the United States national cricket team, was the most successful bowler, claiming four wickets. Saurabh Netravalkar, Ehsan Adil, Jasdeep Singh, and Shubham Ranjane, all players for the United States national cricket team, each took one wicket.
World Cup qualification journey
This match is part of the 2024-2026 edition of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2, an international cricket competition played in the One Day International (ODI) format. This is the second edition of the league, serving as a crucial part of the qualification process for the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. The league replaced the ICC World Cricket League Championship and ICC World Cricket League Division Two as the pathway to World Cup qualification.
The current edition features eight teams and 144 matches, with the top four teams from League 2 advancing to the World Cup Qualifiers for the 2027 tournament, which will be hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. The 2024-2026 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 is scheduled to conclude in December 2026.
Upcoming matches and squad details
The United States national cricket team is set to play its next ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 match against Namibia on October 7, 2026. The team’s strong performance in this league comes as several of its key players have also been named in the squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The T20 World Cup squad includes captain Monank Patel, Shubham Ranjane, Milind Kumar, Saitja Mukkamalla, Harmit Singh, Saurabh Netravalkar, and Ehsan Adil, who replaced Jasdeep Singh due to injury.
Detailed standings for the 2024-2026 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 as of October 6, 2026, are not yet publicly available. Furthermore, specific current roles for UAE players Muhammad Shahdad, Tanish Suri, and Adeeb Usmani were not immediately available.
