A STUNNING, lower-order assault in an unbeaten 14-ball 29 by all-rounder Junaid Aziz proved to be in vain as Bahrain, chasing 162 to win against hosts Malaysia, fell short by just 11 runs yesterday in their opening game of the 2022-23 Malaysia Quadrangular T20I series at the UKM-YSD Cricket Oval in Bangi.
Coming in to bat at number eight, with his side in dire straits at 104 for six in the 15th over and 58 runs still required off five overs, Aziz blasted four sixes in a bid to get Bahrain over the line.
But Malaysian left-arm medium-pacer Rizwan Haider, who finished with 3-22 off his four overs, put on a fine display as he bowled an immaculate line in the crucial 18th over and picked up the wicket of his namesake, Rizwan Butt.
Haider, then, followed it up with a brilliant 20th over in which, with Bahrain requiring 21 runs to win, he conceded only nine runs after having Imran Khan caught by Zubaidi Zulkifle off the first ball.
Bahrain had stuttered early in their run-chase when they lost openers Prashant Kurup and captain Sarfaraz Ali with the score at 18 in the fourth over.
Imran Anwar, at number three, and Sohail Ahmed, at two-drop, then combined for a rollicking 66-run, third-wicket stand in just eight overs.
Anwar smacked five sixes and a boundary in a 28-ball 44 and Ahmed scored 31 off as many deliveries and, with the Malaysian bowling falling into disarray, the two looked in command.
But Anwar tried one shot too many against the right-arm medium-pace of Sharvin Muniandy and holed out in the deep with the scoreboard reading 84 for three in the 12th over.
Haider Butt, in at number five, followed him back to the pavilion just three runs later after nicking left-arm spinner Virandeep Singh to wicketkeeper Syed Rehmatullah for one and Bahrain were suddenly looking shaky at 87-4.
Just slightly more than two overs later, Bahrain looked like they were completely out of the contest when Ahmer bin Nasir and Ahmed fell in quick succession, setting the stage for Aziz to produce his late-innings fireworks as they finished with 150 for nine off their 20 overs.
Earlier, Malaysian captain Ahmed Faiz won the toss and decided to bat with the decision seeming to be an inspired one as openers Zulkifle and Singh thrashed 50 runs off the first 35 balls of the innings.
Singh perished for a run-a-ball 16 off the last ball of the sixth over but Zulkifle continued on his merry way, depositing the Bahraini bowlers to all parts of the ground and appearing unperturbed by the fact that wickets were tumbling regularly at the other end.
When he finally fell to medium-pacer Butt, bowled for a scintillating 73 off only 53 balls with the scoreboard reading 147 for six by the 18th over, Zulkifle had hit seven fours and two sixes and accounted for almost half of his team’s total at that point.
Butt, with 2-24 off his four overs, was the pick of the Bahraini bowlers who, as a group, recovered well after the opening salvo from Zulkifle and Singh and managed to restrict Malaysia to what seemed to be a gettable 161 for eight.
Bahrain will now take on Singapore today while Qatar, who beat Singapore by five wickets yesterday, will face Malaysia.
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