Qatar sprang the first real surprise of the ACC Western Region T20 Tournament, stunning higher-ranked Oman by 34 runs and sealing a spot in the semi-final with two back to back victories in Muscat, Oman yesterday.
Kamran Khan of Qatar won his second Player of the Match Award in two days for his authoritative 54 off 40 balls, including three huge hits over the fence, and lifting his team to a challenging 175 for five. He was involved in an 82-run opening partnership with Zaheeruddeen Ibrahim who struck a stylish 39. Khawar Ali got two wickets.
Chasing Qatar’s healthy target, Oman looked in full control of the game when they were cruising at 77 for one in the ninth over. Amir Kaleem’s departure for a 32 off 18 opened the floodgates as Oman lost nine wickets for only 64 runs.
The game started to turn in Qatar’s favour when captain Iqbal Hussain Chaudhry brought Mohamed Nadeem on to break the partnership which he instantly did by not only dismissing Kaleem but sending captain Zeeshan Maqsood and Suraj Kumar back to pavilion in no time.
Leg-spinner Tamoor Sajjad took the key wicket of opener Khawar Ali and then had Khurram Khan caught in front to put Qatar in the driver’s seat. Oman failed to bounce back from the dramatic collapse, being even unable to play the full 20 overs – they were bowled out for 141 in 19.1 overs.
Kaleemullah’s two sixes in the final overs was the only glimmer of hope amidst the ruins but was clean bowled by Muhammed Awais Malik who, along with Nadeem, picked up three wickets each to hasten Oman’s fall.
Qatar captain Chaudhry, who held three lovely catches, was absolutely delighted after his team’s win over fancied and world-ranked 17th Oman.
“We came here to prove Qatar is ready to play and compete at a higher level and I am really glad that we were able to secure an absolutely fantastic victory against such an accomplished side like Oman which has had so much international exposure. This was the game we wanted to win and hats off to our boys who rose to the occasion and performed so creditably well,” he added.
Results
(Group A)
Qatar beat Oman by 34 runs
Qatar (toss): 175 for 5 off 20 overs (Zaheeruddeen Ibrahim 39, Kamran Khan 54, Imal Liyanage 26, Tamoor Sajjad 22; Bilal 1 wkt, Khawar Ali 2 wkts, Nadeem 1 wkt)
Oman: 141 in 19.1 overs (Khawar Ali 38, Jatinder 15, Aamir 32, Kaleemullah 15; Muhammad Awais Malik 3 wkts, Gayan 1 wkt, Tamoor Sajjad 2 wkts, Muhammad Nadeem 3 wkts)
Man of the Match: Kamran Khan (Qatar)
Bahrain beat Maldives by 65 runs
Bahrain (toss): 186 for 9 off 20 overs (S.Ali 50)
Maldives: 121 for 9 off 20 overs (M.Nilantha 40)
Man of the Match: Sarfaraz Ali (Bahrain)
Group B
Saudi Arabia beat Iran by nine wickets
Iran: 72 for 9 off 20 overs
Saudi Arabia (toss): 73 for 1 off 5.3 overs (A.Waheed 41*)
Man of the Match: Abdul Waheed (Saudi Arabia)
UAE beat Kuwait by 47 runs
UAE: 186 for 5 off 20 overs (C.Suri 51, R.Mustafa 51)
Kuwait (toss): 139 all out off 17.4 overs (R.DeSilva 49, M.Nawfer 32; Z.Khan 3-17, W.Ahmed 3-25)
Man of the Match: Rohan Mustafa (UAE)
from Gulf Times https://ift.tt/2vgk9vt
Comments
Post a Comment