Hosts Kuwait faced UAE at the Doha ground and invited UAE to bat first after winning the toss. UAE openers started brilliantly and put up a 63 runs partnership in just 5.1 overs. Chirag suri continued to dominate as he scored a brilliant 86 in 52 balls. He was supported well by opener Ashfaq Ahmed (36 from 20 balls) and Skipper Rohan Mustafa (31 from 27 balls). UAE finished strongly as Mohammad Usman scored 26 of 10 balls in last couple of overs, to post a total of 201 in the allotted 20 overs.
In reply, Kuwait lost 2 early wickets but Mohammad Asghar and Yaser Idrees kept Kuwait in the hunt with a 42 runs partnership. However both the batsmen were out in quick succession picked up by UAE skipper Rohan Mustafa. Kuwait were 58 for 5 in 9.1 overs and continued to lose wickets. Kuwait reached a total of 115 in 20 overs. Skipper Kashif Sharif scored 33 runs for Kuwait. UAE skipper Rohan Mustafa and Mohammad Naveed picked up 3 wickets each. Chirag Suri was declared Man of the Match for his emphatic 86 runs as UAE topped the points table.
UAE Captain Rohan Mustafa said “ We are pleased to win all five games and be on the top of the table, but the big game is tomorrow and we expect to finish strongly. It is a good sign that the openers are back in form for us”
At the SCG, Qatar faced Bahrain and decided to field after winning the toss. Qatar pegged back Bahrain as kept picking up wickets regularly without allowing Bahrain to score freely. Bahrain were 49 for 4 in 11.1 overs. The last over cameo by Bilal Mansoor smashing 20 in 5 balls helped Bahrain post a total of 112 in 20 overs for the loss of 8 wickets. Awais malik picked up 3 wickets for 23 runs in his 4 overs.
Qatar looked comfortable chasing the target of 112 as they were 42 for the loss of 2 wickets in 4 overs. Kamran Khan (16 of 15 balls) and Zaheer Ibrahim (22 of 17 balls) had a crucial 37 runs partnership as Qatar were 79 for 4 in 9.2 overs. Qatar lost 5th wicket soon after to allow Bahrain plough back into the game at 81 for 5. Qatar approached cautiously thereafter and reached the target in 16.4 overs and no further wickets lost. Man of the Match Zaheer Ibrahim scored 43 not out in 37 balls.
Qatar Captain Inam Ul Haq quoted “We are pleased with our performance so far and enjoying the tournament. We look forward to performing well on the big day tomorrow.”
In the afternoon match at the SCG, Saudi Arabia won the toss and elected to bat against Maldives. Saudi Arabia started briskly scoring 33 runs in first four overs at the loss of 1 wicket. Maldives responded strongly by picking up 4 middle order wickets in 45 runs to put brakes on Saudi Arabia at 79 for 5 wickets in 13 overs. The lower middle order turned up and put up a partnership of 45 runs in 5 overs to take the Saudi total to 136 for 6 in 18th over. Saudi Arabia posted a good total of 154 runs in 20 overs. Shahbaz Rasheed was the top scorer for Saudi Arabia scoring 38 runs in 21 balls. Maldives lost 2 early wickets but MNR Cooray showed good resilience to score 47 runs and propel the Maldives innings to 119 for 9. Man of the Match Mohammed Afzal took 3 wickets and scored 23 runs for Saudi Arabia.
Bahrain and Maldives could not qualify for the playoff round for the 3rd qualification spots. Bahrain captain said, “The team tried their best but fell short of qualification. The Bahrain squad enjoyed the tournament and shall be better prepared next time”
UAE and Qatar have now secured their places to play the ICC World Twenty20 Asia Finals while the winning team between Saudi Arabia and hosts Kuwait will qualify for the third spot. UAE face Qatar and Saudi Arabia face Kuwait tomorrow.
For results, live scores and information on the ICC World Twenty20 Asia Qualifier ‘A’ please HERE
