On the third day of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Final Asia, Oman defeated hosts Nepal by five runs in a thrilling final over to take the lead in Group A, while the UAE advanced to the semi-finals as Group B winners with comprehensive wins over Hong Kong and China. Kathmandu in 2023.
In the afternoon match, Malaysia comfortably defeated neighboring Singapore by 60 points, while Bahrain, despite being on the losing side at Mulpani, narrowly narrowly qualified for the semi-finals on net run rate.
Nepal vs Oman
The home side invited Oman to bat first after winning the toss and immediately got into the game when Kashyap Prajapati beat keeper Aasif Sheikh on the fifth ball of Karan KC’s first over. Nepal kept going for wickets in the first overs as Oman finished the powerplay with a score of 38/4.
Captain Zeeshan Maqsood, who scored 32 runs off 26 bats, continued to rebuild Oman’s innings until Ayaan Khan was bowled by Sandeep Lamichhane in the 13.1 over (25th over). Sandeep took another wicket in the next ball, dismissing LBW Mehran Khan and Oman’s score read 87/6.
After Zeeshan was dismissed in 14.4 overs as Oman reached the 100-over mark, Naseem Khushi took 25 (14) and Shakeel Ahmed 22 (17)* for 145/9 in 20 overs. Curran KC took 3 wickets in 4 overs but were the most expensive with 43 runs conceded. Sandeep Lamichhane (2-30), Sonpal Kami (2-16), Gulshan Jha (1-35) and Avinash Bohara (1-18) were the other bowlers who got on the wicket for Nepal.
Nepal’s batting was no exception in the chase as Oman continued to take wickets at short intervals. Nepal lost opener Aasif Sheikh for 5(8) in 2.1 overs as Bilal Khan delivered a stunner with his own bowling. Shortly thereafter, Sonpal Khami, who had been promoted to number three, was dismissed by Shakeel Ahmed for 12 (9). Opener Kushal Bultel, who had been scoring 36 throughout, was bowled out by Mehran Khan for 26 (18) in 5.5 overs, leaving Nepal’s score at 43/3.
Oman continued bowling in the right areas and Nepal lost the next five wickets for just 42 runs and began to crumble at the packed TU Cricket Ground. Needing 61 more runs off 26 balls, the crowd came alive after Vivek Yadav and Curran KC started pouring in boundaries and with three balls he brought the equation down to seven runs.Oman bowler Bilal Khan braced himself and dismissed Vivek on the 3rd.rd On the last ball of the last over and with Nepal needing 6 runs, Curran KC sealed the victory by 5 runs in a thrilling manner.
Bilal finished with 3 wins and 30 losses in four overs. Left-arm spinner Shakeel Ahmed took two wickets along with Aqib Ilyas and Mehran Khan. Captain Zeeshan Maqsood took one wicket in two overs. Nepal’s Vivek Yadav top-scored with 39 (24), including five sixes.
Shakeel Ahmed, 22(17)*, was named Player of the Match for his all-round performance with 2 wins and 15 losses.
Quick score:
Oman’s 145/9 (Zeeshan Maqsood 32, Karan KC 3-43) in 20.0 overs defeated Nepal 140/10 (Vivek Yadav 39, Bilal Khan 3-30) in 20.0 overs by 5 runs.
United Arab Emirates vs Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong, China also decided to bat first after winning the toss against the UAE at the Mulpani Cricket Ground. UAE got off to a great start as they batted first, with captain Mohammad Waseem hitting the bowlers with five fours and three sixes in 46 innings (24), ending the powerplay at 55-1.
China’s Hong Kong quickly got back into the match after breaking down UAE’s middle order and reducing the score to 89/4 in 11.3 overs, but regained momentum with Alishan Sharaf and Basil Hameed’s 76-run partnership. Alishan scored 34 points off 24 pitches and Basil Hameed finished with 51 points (29 points). UAE then finished at 176/6 from a full 20 overs. Yassim Murtaza’s 3 wins and 14 losses was the top bowling record for China/Hong Kong, while Nasrullah Rana (2 wins, 43 losses) and Ethan Khan (1 win, 41 losses) were also among the wicket takers.
The chase between Hong Kong and China was disrupted early on as opener Martin Coetzee returned to the pavilion with just nine runs. After that, captain Nizakat Khan made 22 balls for 25 and Anshuman Rath made 47 balls for 59 as China/Hong Kong progressed their innings. However, Aizaz Khan made 26 (17) but a mid- and low-order fumble gave the UAE their third win and progressed to the semi-finals as Group B winners. Ali Nasir and Zahoor Khan picked up two wickets while Nilansh Keswani and Junaid Siddique picked up one wicket to help UAE to a 22-run victory.
Basil Hameed was named Player of the Match after his half-century.
Quick score:
UAE are 176/6 in 20.0 overs (Basil Hameed 51, Yassim Murtaza 3 wins, 14 losses), China/Hong Kong are 154/8 (Anshuman Rath 59, Ali Nasir 2 wins, 29 losses) in 20.0 overs, 22 runs behind. I broke it.
Malaysia vs Singapore
Batting first after winning the toss, Malaysia quickly lost their opening batsman Syed Aziz for just nine runs. Zubaidi Zulkifle played a quick knock of 38 (19) and Tilip Tilapan removed the bails in 7.6 overs. However, an incredible 108-run partnership between Sherbin Muniandi and captain Ahmad Faiz, who both scored half-centuries, helped Malaysia post a high total of 198/4 in 20 overs.
Faiz was dismissed after playing a brilliant innings of 71 (41) innings, which included two fours and six sixes, while Muniandi remained not out at 60 (48) with eight fours. . Ramesh Kalimthu picked two wickets for Singapore while Janak Prakash and Thilip Thilapan picked one wicket each.
Singapore fought back against Malaysia by taking the lead with 81 points, with captain Aritola Dutta (53 points) and Rohan Rangarajan (36 points) playing 31 balls each. After No. 3 batsman Anish Param was dismissed for 31 (20), none of the Singaporean batsmen could score double figures and the team scored 138 runs in 17.5 overs.
Malaysia’s Muhammad Amir took five wickets and conceded 16 runs in three overs, giving Malaysia a disappointing victory. Pavandeep Singh took two wickets while his younger brother Virandeep Singh and Rizwan Haider took one wicket each.
Muhammad Amir was named Player of the Match for his five-wicket haul that helped Malaysia to a huge 60-run victory.
Quick score:
Malaysia are 198/4 in 20 overs (Ahmad Faiz 71, Ramesh Kalimthu 2-48) and Singapore are 138/10 (Artila Dutta 53, Mohammad Amir 5-16) in 17.5 overs by 60 runs. Broke it.
Kuwait vs Bahrain
The match, with China’s chance of advancing to the semi-finals at stake after China lost to the UAE early in the morning in Hong Kong, was an important feature for both teams. Losing the toss and batting first, Bahrain posted 158/9 in 20 overs with small contributions from the entire batting line-up as wickets continued to fall throughout the innings. Imran Anwar’s 37 (25) points were Bahrain’s top scorer, followed by captain Umair Toor and wicketkeeper Imran Ali with 22 points each.
Haider Butt contributed with 18 (11), Sohail Ahmed with 15 run-a-balls, Junaid Aziz with 11 off four balls and Sathiya Veerapatiran with 11 (8). All Kuwait’s bowlers picked at least a wicket, with Mirza Ahmed and Shiraz Khan picking up two wickets each.
Kuwait didn’t get the exact start they were hoping for in their bid to catch up, as they lost both openers cheaply and picked up the third wicket shortly thereafter. However, keeper-batsman Usman Patel’s 34-ball 64 and captain Mohammad Aslam’s 20-ball 34 ensured that Kuwait ended up victorious. Ali Dawood and Rizwan Butt picked two wickets each, with Abdul Majid ultimately picking up the wicket for Kuwait.
Kuwait’s Usman Patel won with a knock of 64 (34) and was awarded the Player of the Match award.
However, the victory was not enough for Kuwait as Bahrain surpassed Hong Kong and China in net run rate to reach the semi-finals.
Quick score:
Kuwait (Usman Patel 64, Ali Dawood 2-23) on 160/6 in 16.3 overs beat Bahrain (Imran Anwar 37, Shiraz Khan 2-22) on 158/9 in 20 overs by four wickets. I broke it.
Note to editor
About ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifiers
For the first time, 20 teams will participate in the event, divided into four groups of five people each. The top two teams in each group advance to the Super Eight phase, and the remaining teams are divided into two groups of four each. The top two from each group will advance to the semifinals.