SHAHBAZ Badar smashed a magnificent 178 off 144 balls to propel Bahrain to a massive 292-run win over the Maldives at the AIT cricket ground in Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday in their second Group A One-Day International (ODI) match of the inaugural 2023 Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Men’s Challenger Cup.
Put in to bat after captain Haider Butt lost the toss, Bahrain racked up a huge score of 380 for six off their 50 overs – thanks to Badar’s maiden ODI century; also the first-ever by a Bahraini batsman in only the second ODI played by the kingdom’s team. The bowlers then combined to dismiss the Maldives for a paltry 88 all out in just 31.3 overs.
Man-of-the-match Badar, 31, was simply unstoppable as he plundered 14 fours and seven sixes off the hapless Maldives’ bowling. He was partnered in a blistering 175-run, second-wicket stand off just 163 balls by the in-form allrounder Junaid Aziz who smacked 75 off 77 balls.
Even the loss of Aziz and number four Sohail Ahmed in quick succession didn’t deter the wicketkeeper-batsman as he and captain Butt, in at number five, scored freely in a rollicking 68-run stand for the fourth wicket off just 7.3 overs.
Badar eventually fell to medium-pacer Ibrahim Hassan with Bahrain perfectly placed at 324 for four after 45.5 overs. Butt followed soon, thereafter, for a rapid 50 off 29 balls and all-rounder Sathaiya Veerapathiran supplied the finishing touches to Bahrain’s innings with a quick seven-ball 15, including two sixes.
“I’m very happy to have scored the first-ever ODI century for Bahrain,” Badar told the GDN by phone from Bangkok after the game. “And I am extremely honoured to have contributed to a crucial win by the team in such a big tournament.”
Badar added that he had stuck to the basics and followed the instructions given to him by the team’s coaches while he was batting.
“When you’re batting like that, it’s easy to get carried away and try to smack every ball for four or six,” he laughed. “But I had been given very clear instructions on the need to play every ball on merit and, especially, to respect good balls.
“As the innings went on, more instructions were sent in and I tried to follow them as well. Also, I didn’t attempt to get ahead of myself and thought of taking my innings through in phases – when I reached 50, I told myself to aim for a century and, once I crossed that milestone, I aimed for 150.”
In reply, the Maldives succumbed to scoreboard pressure, slumping to 38 for five in the 15th over as their top-order batsmen threw caution to the winds in their quest to keep up with the run-rate.
They only managed to stumble to their eventual total because of a whirlwind 35 by Mohammad Mahfooz, batting at number 10.
Medium-pacers Rizwan Butt, Veerapathiran and Ali Dawood along with left-arm spinner Abdul Majid shared two wickets each as Bahrain rocketed to the top of the four-team table with their second successive win in the tournament.
Already assured of a place in the semi-finals, Bahrain will take on Iran in their last group fixture tomorrow at the Terdthai Cricket Ground.
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