BAHRAIN bounced back in the ACC Men’s Western Region T20 Tournament in Muscat yesterday scoring an emphatic 65-run victory over Maldives in a Group ‘A’ match.
It was Bahrain’s first victory following a heavy defeat suffered at the hands of hosts Oman on the opening day on Sunday.
Opener and man-of-the-match Sarfaraz Ali’s hard-hitting 50 off 22 balls, including five big sixes, was the highlight of Bahrain’s imposing 186 for nine after they elected to bat first.
Maldives could manage only 121 for nine with Mitutathrige Nilantha (41) the top scorer.
Bahrain are third in the table with two points, behind leaders Qatar (4) and Oman (2).
In another Group ‘A’ match, Qatar beat hosts Oman by 34 runs.
Qatar reached 175 for five and Oman, in reply, were bowled out for 141 in 19.1 overs.
In Group ‘B’, the UAE beat Kuwait by 47 runs.
Batting first, the UAE reached 186 for five as openers Chirag Suri and Roshan Mustafa added 96 runs.
Suri struck a solid 51 and man-of-the-match Mustafa also made 51, but he was more aggressive as he scored his runs off just 37 balls.
In reply, opener Ravija DeSilva kept Kuwait in the match with a strokeful 49. But Kuwait found the target too stiff and were bowled out for 139 in the 18th over.
With their second successive victory, the UAE qualified for the semi-finals from Group ‘B’.
In the other Group ‘B’ match, Saudi Arabia beat Iran by nine wickets.
The top two teams from each group qualify for the semi-finals.
TODAY’S MATCHES
9.30am: Oman vs Maldives and Saudi Arabia vs UAE
1.30pm: Qatar vs Bahrain and Kuwait vs Iran
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