Singapore and Kuwait win on day four of the T20 World Cup Asia Final
Qatar v Kuwait
Kuwait had to win to keep any hopes alive of a positive outcome in the tournament vs fellow Middle Eastern cricket powerhouse Qatar. Qatar won the toss and elected to field.
Kuwait showed great intent from the get go playing an attacking yet secure brand of cricket. Openers Ravija Sandaruwan (26 off 13) and Meet Bhavsar (35 off 30) both made useful starts ensured that the Powerplay was put to good use.
This was followed by an excellent partnership between Bhavsar and Adnan Idrees (56 off 32). Idrees in particular was brutal on the Qatari bowlers scoring eight fours and two massive sixes.
Vital contributions from skipper Muhammad Kashif (43 off 20) and an impressive cameo by Usman Waheed (28 off 18) ensured Kuwait got to 197 off their 20 overs for the loss of 7 wickets making it the highest total of the tournament thus far.
Iqbal Hussain and Nouman Sarwar were the leading wicket takers for Qatar but skipper Tamoor Sajjad was the standout bowler, sending down his quota for just 28 on a day where all the bowlers went for plenty.
The Qatar response got off to a blitzing start with Faisal Javeed ripping in to the Kuwait openers and taking 24 runs from just eight balls before perishing to a stunning catch by Shiraz Khan at point.
Qatar looked the favourites at the end of the Powerplay with both experienced Inam-ul-Haq and Muhammad Tanveer still at the crease.
The Kuwaiti bowlers, backed up by solid fielding, kept the pressure on and picked crucial wickets up at key junctures in the game to restrict Qatar’s advance.
Jandu Hamoud and Shiraz Khan claimed two wickets apiece while the standout bowler was MNM Aslam who bowled his four overs for just 14 runs and picked up a wicket.
While Qatar skipper Tamoor Sajjad (46 off 32) and Nouman Sarwar (34 off 13) kept eating away at the total, the required rate climbed. When the last over began Qatar required 31 runs to win, and though they managed 20, that still left them 10 short in a run fest which produced 384 runs in total
Kuwait were deserving winners and Adnan Idrees was awarded player of the match with Match Referee Manu Nayyar presenting the award.
Singapore v Malaysia
It was the most awaited match of the tournament with hosts Singapore taking on their across-the-straits neighbour Malaysia. The IA Oval in Balestier Road Singapore was packed with supporters from both sides and the live streaming had a great fan following.
Malaysia won the toss and elected to bat first.
Bolstered by the home support, Singapore struck three times inside the Powerplay to stop Malaysia’s advance in its tracks. Tight bowling coupled with outstanding fielding and breathtaking catching meant the Malaysian scoreline read 28/3 in 6.2 overs.
Singapore skipper Amjad Mahboob (3 for 20) and S Vijayakumar (2 for 11) were the stars as Singapore restricted Malaysia to 92 all out in 18.4 overs. Anantha Krishna (3 for 27) bowled with great control and penetration as well, while Janak Prakash added a blinding catch to his figures of 1 for 12.
For Malaysia, Muhamad Syahadat’s 22 off 20 was the only meaningful contribution.
Malaysia’s total didn’t seem enough to trouble a deep, powerful Singpaore batting lineup on a beautiful wicket for batting, but the defending side put together a spirited effort.
NCK Liyanage managed to remove Rohan Rangarajan without scoring on the third ball of the chase before another bit of fielding brilliance by the lightning quick Anwar Rahman from backward point accounted for Singapore’s star player Tim David with a direct hit catching him short as he attempted a risky single.
Malaysia might have felt they could turn the momentum but Surendran Chandramohan (50 of 42) and Manpreet Singh (26 off 28) combined with a steady and attacking partnership of 78 to ensure there were no hiccups and that Singapore would cross the required target at a canter with eight wickets in hand.
Chandramohan was awarded the Player of the Match and created history by becoming the first Singapore player to score an International T20 half century.
Singapore remain on top of the leader board with five point. Nepal await in the tournament’s final game on Sunday, and victory would see Singapore scale their mount Everest and qualify for the ICC T20 World Cup Global Qualifier in the UAE.
Tomorrow Kuwait take on Nepal at 9.30am and Malaysia take on Qatar at 2pm.