Mohammed Adil smashed a match-winning hundred and Mohammed Basil scored his second half-century in a row before Anas Obaid Syed took three quick wickets in a fiery opening spell to propel Bahrain to a thumping 180-run win over Saudi Arabia yesterday in their second day-night game of the inaugural Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Men’s U-16 West Zone Cup at the Vision Cricket Center in Sharjah.
Needing an imposing 271 to win off 35 overs, Saudi Arabia saw their run-chase derailed right at the start of their innings as Syed, in a spell of hostile pace bowling that belied his young age, took three quick wickets to reduce them to 16 for three at the end of the sixth over.
They never recovered, thereafter, and as a steady Bahrain bowling attack chipped away at their middle- and lower-order, eventually subsided to 90 all out in 24.5 overs, with Syed returning the fine figures of three for nine off four overs. The dominant win was Bahrain’s second in a row, following their 153-run victory over Qatar on Friday.
Earlier, batting first after Saudi captain Mohammad Zuber Sunasara won the toss and put them in, Bahrain slumped to 68 for three in the 11th over before Adil and Basil came together to set the ground alight in a blazing 194-run stand for the fourth wicket off just 142 deliveries.
Basil, who top-scored with an unbeaten 96 in the 153-run victory over Qatar just a day earlier, continued his fine form, striking the ball sweetly as he found the boundary regularly in his run-a-ball 78, studded with 12 fours.
But it was man-of-the-match Adil who stole the show as he motored along to a scintillating century, striking nine boundaries and four huge sixes as the wind went out of the Saudis’ sails.
The young batsman was in such supreme command that the bowling attack wilted in the face of his ferocious onslaught. To compound the Saudi bowlers’ misery, there was no respite at the other end either as Basil matched his teammate stroke for stroke and the partnership rocketed along at more than eight runs an over.
Adil was finally run-out after he reached his century in the 34th over and Basil followed with two balls left in the innings and Bahrain well-placed at 267 for five.
Their eventual total of 270 for five off 35 overs always seemed like a mountain too high for the Saudis to climb and so it proved after Syed’s magnificent bowling at the start of their innings.
Bahrain will now play Oman tomorrow at the same venue.
The match will start at 3pm, Bahrain time.
adnan@gdnmedia.bh
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