Malaysia down Singapore in thriller; Easy wins for Hong Kong China and Kuwait
Report
The fourth day of action at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier A featured the first thriller of the tournament when Rizwan Haider held his nerve to defend 11 runs in the final over against Singapore in a chase of 183.
Earlier in the day, Hong Kong China gunned down a target of 103 against the Maldives courtesy of Zeeshan Ali’s unbeaten 50 off 21 balls.
Yasin Patel’s three-wicket haul kept Myanmar to 47 before they overhauled the score halfway through the fourth over.
Hong Kong China vs Maldives
Asked to bat first, the Maldives dugout was once again treated to a cameo from vice-captain Adam Nasif. He started his innings by smashing Ateeq Iqbal over the long on boundary and repeated the dose against Ehsan Khan, who he struck through the covers one ball later to propel Maldives to 29 for no loss in three overs.
Yet again, however, the Maldivian batting fell away after Nasif’s departure. Iqbal struck back, bowling Nasif and Mohamed Rishwan in the same over to close out the powerplay at 48 for two. Ehsan Khan bounced back to take three wickets in his remaining three overs as Yasim Murtaza chipped in with another two. As a result, Maldives only managed to score 54 runs in the final 14 overs.
Zeeshan Ali ensured that a chase of 103 never troubled Hong Kong. Mohamed Shiyan was the sole wicket-taker for Maldives, getting Jamie Atkinson caught behind for 19 in the sixth over.
Zeeshan, however, smacked Shiyam over deep mid wicket before clearing long off to take 22 runs off the remainder of the same over. At 65 for one after the powerplay, all that remained were formalities. Skipper Nizakat Khan chipped in with four maximums in his brutal 35 to help deliver another two points for his team.
Brief Score:
Hong Kong China 107/1 in 9 Overs (Zeeshan Ali 50, Nizakat Khan 35*, Shiyam 1-22) beat Maldives 102/9 in 20 Overs (Adam Nasif 26, Ehsan Khan 3-20, Murtaza 2-13, Ateeq Iqbal 2-24) by 9 Wickets*
Player of the Match: Ateeq Iqbal (Hong Kong China)
Kuwait vs Myanmar
After Kuwait put Myanmar into bat, Yasin Patel struck off just his third delivery, bowling Ko Ko Lin Thu for 1. Skipper Pyae Phyo Wai chipped in with a stoic 16 that included one of only three boundaries that Myanmar would strike in their innings.
Adnan Idrees picked up the prized scalp of the Myanmar skipper, getting him caught by Ravija Sandaruwan. Paing Danu hit back with a pair of boundaries, but Patel would continue to be a thorn in the opposition’s flesh, picking up two more wickets, including Thu Ya Aung who was stumped for 6.
Danu was bowled in the last over by Mohamed Shafeeq, setting up a simple chase of 48 for the gulf nation.
Once again, this time in the second innings, it was Wai and Danu who made an impression picking up a wicket each.
However, by the time Danu bowled Sandaruwan for 20, the powerful right-hander had already muscled two sixes. The boundaries continued flowing as Kuwait sealed a comprehensive win with over 16 overs to spare.
Brief Score:
Kuwait 48/2 in 3.3 Overs (Sandaruwan 20, Anto 14, Danu 1-23) beat Myanmar 47/7 in 20 Overs (Wai 16, Danu 14, Yasin Patel 3-6, Idrees 2-10) by 8 Wickets*
Player of the Match: Yasin Patel (Kuwait)
Malaysia vs Singapore
Malaysian skipper Syed Aziz seems unstoppable these days and continued his rich vein of form by smashing Malaysia’s fastest-ever fifty in T20Is, reaching the landmark in just 19 balls.
He began by hitting Janak Prakash for two sixes in the second over, one of which sailed over deep mid wicket. Medium-pacer Ramesh Kalimuthu was launched beyond the deep square leg rope before Anish Paraam dropped short twice against the southpaw and paid the maximum penalty.
Harsha Bharadwaj finally dismissed Syed Aziz, getting him caught by Janak Prakash. At 71 for three in the seventh over, with the track at the UKM-YSD Oval offering a hint of turn, important knocks of 22 and 29 from Ahmad Faiz and Virandeep Singh helped Malaysia make steady progress before Aqeel Wahid clubbed four maximums in his knock of 48 to get the host nation up to an imposing 182.
Chasing more than nine runs an over for victory, Singapore was in big early trouble courtesy of three wickets from Pavandeep Singh in the powerplay. He started by getting Surendran Chandramohan caught behind before drawing Aritra Dutta out of his crease for an easy stumping. Keeper Ainool Hafizs continued his busy day, collecting a throw from Wahid to run Will Simpson out for 8, restricting Singapore to 40 for four in the sixth over.
Walking to the crease to partner skipper Manpreet Singh, Anish Paraam led an epic fightback, stroking three of his first four boundaries behind square on the off side. Manpreet Singh, meanwhile peppered the leg side and straight boundaries, smashing four sixes in his knock.
Paraam would soon join in the six-hitting party, with a trio of big hits into the leg side.
Yet, Manpreet's wicket brought the hosts back into the game. With nine runs needed off four balls, Janak Prakash picked up a boundary down to fine leg before scampering a brisk two.
Rizwan Haider had a mere three runs to defend off the final two deliveries, but held his nerve, getting Janak Prakash caught by Virandeep before keeping Amartya Kaul down to a mere single to seal a memorable one-run win.
Paraam would count himself unlucky to end up on the wrong end of the result after his outstanding 78 not out.
Brief Score:
Malaysia 182/6 in 20 Overs (Syed Aziz 53, Wahid 48, Kalimuthu 2-53, Akshay Puri 1-19) beat Singapore 181/7 in 20 Overs (Paraam 78, Manpreet 53, Pavandeep 3-25) by 1 Run*
Player of the Match: Syed Aziz (Malaysia)
A win for each of the pre-tournament favorites maintains their unbeaten run at the top of the points table. Malaysia will face Kuwait in tomorrow morning’s game at the Bayuemas Oval. The top two teams from this event will progress to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia-EAP Final and get one step closer to their World Cup dream.