2nd September – Match 1
Maldives Senior Men’s v Kinya Cricket Club
Maldives won by 7 wickets – SCORECARD
Coach Asif Khan selected an experienced team for the first match on the tour of Sri Lanka and was duly rewarded with a strong victory over Kinya Cricket Club.
New Captain Mohamed Mahfooz won the toss and chose to put the Lankans into bat first. A patient start by the home team was thwarted in the 4th over when left arm orthodox bowler Mohamed Saafee broke the stumps with 2 wickets in 3 balls.
With wickets continuing to fall at regular intervals, the batsmen could not get a grasp on the innings and Kinya CC limped to 95 All Out off 18.1 Overs. Opener Ifthikar (18) and Nafeer (20) were the top scorers. Bowling wise, 3 wickets for Saafee, 2 each for Adam Nasif and Ahmed Ameel and one for the others bowlers saw every bowler take a wicket.
In reply, Maldives opener Ismail Ali was the pick of the batsmen with 41 from 28 balls. Mohamed Rishwan (19) and Abdullah Shahid (11) were the batsmen to hit double figures. Hassan Haziq and Shafraz Jaleel not out each saw the victory home in comfortable style in the 15th Over.
Bowler of the Match – Mohamed Saafee (3-8)
Batsman of the Match – Ismail Ali (41)
