Afghanistan thrashed Malaysia by 59 runs at the Pulchowk Engineering College Ground, where Oman demolished minnow Bhutan by 124 runs. The UAE edged past Kuwait by four wickets with just eight balls remaining while chasing 135 runs target at the TU Cricket Ground. Afghanistan won the toss and opted to bat first. [break]
Afghanistan put up 166/4 by the end of the 20th over as opener Shabir Noori scored 53 runs off 30 balls. Man-of-the-match Noori along with his opening partner Karim Sadiq (39 off 41) contributed 83-run opening stand. Asghar Stanikzai remained unbeaten with 24 runs and Mohammad Shahzad added 20 runs. Malaysia´s right-arm offbreak bowler took three wickets.
In reply, Malaysia managed to score only 107 runs in 20 overs losing nine wickets. Hammad Ullah Khan (31 off 26) and Suhan Kumar (28 off 25) were the highest contributors in Malaysia´s innings. Mohammad Nabi took three wickets while Samiullah Shenwari claimed two to seal victory for Afghanistan.
Likewise, Oman proved to be too mighty for Bhutan. Oman put up 186/7 in 20 overs and bundled out Bhutan at 62 runs in 13.4 overs.
Opener Zeeshan Siddiqui (31 off 19) and Rajeshkumar Ranpura (22 off 22) produced 63-run opening partnership. Vaibhav Wategaonkar, then, took the Oman innings ahead with 45 runs off 34 balls. Sultan Ahmed added 23 runs off 20 balls while Bhutan gave away 32 runs as extras. Sonam Tobgay took three wickets for Bhutan while Thinley Jamtsho claimed two.
Bhutanese batsman failed one after another as they were chasing a mighty total. Hemal Mehta took three wickets while Awal Khan and man-of-the-match Zeeshan Siddiqui grabbed two wickets each to seal victory for Oman. Dilip Subba (13 off 20) and Kencho Norbu (13 off 22) were the major contributors for Bhutan.
At the TU Cricket Ground, Kuwait won the toss and opted to bat first. Kuwait were all out for 135 with a ball remaining. Mohammad Murad struck five sixes, including four consecutive against the UAE bowler Ahmed Javed, to score 34 runs off 23 balls. Mohammed Asghar scored 24 runs off 32 balls to guide to a respectable total.
The UAE gave away 36 runs as extras. Khurram Khan was the most successful bowler for the UAE as he sent three Kuwait batsmen to pavilion. Irfan Ahmed and Ahmed Raza claimed two wickets each.
Chasing the total, the UAE lost six wickets but met the target in 18.4 overs. Vikrant Shetty struck unbeaten 45 runs off 32 balls while opener Faizan Asif struck 44 runs off 30 balls. Man-of-the-match Shetty hit four boundaries and a six while Asif struck five sixes and two boundaries.
Brief Scores
Kuwait - 135 (19.5/20 ov)
Md Murad: 34 runs; K Khan: 3.5-0-11-3
UAE - 138/6 (18.4/20 ov)
V Shetty: 45 runs; Md Murad: 3.4-0-31-3
Oman 186/7 (20/20 ov)
VS Wategaonkar: 45 runs; S Tobgay: 4-0-38-3
Bhutan 62 (13.4/20 ov)
DK Subba: 13 runs; HJ Mehta: 2-0-11-3
Afghanistan 166/4 (20/20 ov)
Shabir Noori: 53 runs; Nik Arifin: 4-0-35-3
Malaysia 107/9 (20.0/20 ov)
H Ullah Khan: 31 runs; Md Nabi: 4-0-21-3
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