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Tribune News Network
DOHA
Qatar overcame a few nervy moments before clinching a vital four-wicket victory over main challengers Saudi Arabia in the ICC World Twenty20 Asia Sub-Regional Qualifier A Tournament in Kuwait City on Tuesday.
At the Sulabiya Cricket Ground, Qatar bowled impressively to limit the rivals at 135 for seven with Nouman Sarwar and Moahmmed Nadeem picking two scalps each.
Qatar appeared to be coasting along before suffering a mini slump in which they lost three wickets for just 10 runs. However, an unbroken seventh-wicket alliance between Khurram Shahjad and Sarwar saw them through with seven balls to spare.
In other matches of the day, the United Arab Emirates hammered Maldives by 43 runs to maintain their position at the top of the standings with four wins in as many matches, while Kuwait defeated Bahrain by 23 runs.
The Qatar-Saudi Arabia match was significant in a way as the winner would consolidate its place as the No. 2 team further and get a chance to play for the top position against the UAE on April 27.
At the moment, Qatar, after posting third victory in four matches, looks in strong position to play against the UAE. Saudi Arabia are third with two wins in four matches and are followed by Kuwait (fourth on NRR), Bahrain (fifth) and winless Maldives (sixth).
Qatar Team Manager Gul Khan Jadoun was pleased after his team's triumph."This was very important match for us. By God's grace, we won by four wickets and are now in line for a No. 1 spot playoff against the UAE.
"The entire team worked hard for the victory. We bowled well to contain Saudi Arabia to a modest total. Our batsmen applied themselves well on the turning track and held off the opponents," he added.
"Our next match is against Bahrain on Thursday. We'll try to use the rest day (Wednesday) for preparing a good strategy so that we stay foncused and the on the track to be either No. 1 or 2 in the event," Jadoun said.
Sajjad's blow when he had Imran Arif caught by Mohammed Nadeem off his second ball proved quite potent and Saudi Arabia were left struggling four down 56 in eight overs. Faisal Khan looked in ruthless mood when he smacked four sixes and one four to reach 29 off 20 balls.
However, Nadeem sent Khan back in the fifth over at 32. Awais Malik then dimissed Afaq Ahmed, grabbing a caught and bowled offer at 52 and four runs later, Mohammad Afzal (19 off 19 balls with a six and a four) fell to Iqbal Hussain.
Saudi Arabia staged a recovery through the fifth-wicket partnership between Abdul Waheed and Shahbaz Rasheed. They collected 54 runs but their alliance was split by Nadeem off his final delivery, having Waheed caught for 19 off 28 balls.
Within five balls, Qatar delivered another big blow, with Sarwar removing other well-set Rasheed. He faced 32 balls and made 36 with two sixes and three fours. Sarvar picked another wicket when he got Sajid Cheema (14 in 8 balls) caught after he had blasted two sixes.
Saudi Arabia appeared like coming back into the game as they removed three Qatar wickets quickly. However, a 60-run stand put up by Tamoor Sajjad and Zaheer Ibrahim took their score to 99.
At this stage, Ibrahim, who cracked two sixes and a four in his 27-ball 35, was run out by Cheema. Within 10 runs, new man Mohammed Rizlan (1) and Sajjad (35 in 27 balls with a six and three boundaries) departed as Saudi Arabia put pressure on Qatar.
An unbroken 27-run partnership then developed between Shahzad and Sarwar sealed the fate of Saudi Arabia and a win for Qatar in 18.5 overs. Shahzad made 19 not out off 20 balls and Sarwar chipped in 10 not out in 12 deliveries.
Scoreboard
Saudi Arabia:
Faisal Khan b Mohammed Nadeem 29
Imran Arif c Mohammed Nadeem b Tamoor Sajjad 0
Mohammad Afzal c Inam-ul-Haq b Iqbal Hussain 19
Afaq Ahmed c & b Awais Malik 3
Abdul Waheed c Kamran Khan b Mohammed Nadeem 19
Shahbaz Rasheed c Mohammed Rizlan b Nouman Sarwar 36
Inayat Saeed not out 3
Sajid Cheema c Tamoor Sajjad b Nouman Sarwar 14
Ibrarul Haq not out 1
Extras (lb2, w9) 11
TOTAL (for 7 wkts, 20 overs, RR: 6.75) 135
Did not bat: Khawar Abbas, Usman Ali
Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Imran Arif, 1.2 ov), 2-32 (Faisal Khan, 4.3 ov), 3-52 (Afaq Ahmed, 6.3 ov), 4-56 (Mohammad Afzal, 7.5 ov), 5-110 (Abdul Waheed, 16.6 ov), 6-116 (Shahbaz Rasheed, 17.4 ov), 7-132 (Sajid Cheema, 19.3 ov)
Bowling: Mohammed Nadeem 4-0-37-2, Tamoor Sajjad 4-0-29-1, Awais Malik 4-0-17-1, Iqbal Hussain 4-0-14-1, Inam-ul-Haq 2-0-15-0, Nouman Sarwar 2-0-21-2.
Qatar:
Faisal Javid Khan c Khawar Abbas b Imran Arif 18
Inam-ul-Haq c Usman Ali b Imran Arif 8
Tamoor Sajjad b Mohammad Afzal 35
Kamran Khan c Afaq Ahmed b Imran Arif 6
Zaheer Ibrahim run out (Sajid Cheema) 35
Mohammed Rizlan run out (Mohammad Afzal) 1
Khurram Shahzad not out 19
Nouman Sarwar not out 10
Extras (nb2, w2) 4
TOTAL (for 6 wkts, 18.5 Overs, RR: 7.22) 136
Yet to bat: Mohammed Nadeem, Iqbal Hussain, Awais Malik
Fall of wickets: 1-27 (Faisal Javid Khan, 2.2 ov), 2-27 (Inam-ul-Haq, 2.5 ov), 3-39 (Kamran Khan, 4.4 ov), 4-99 (Zaheer Ibrahim, 11.6 ov), 5-105 (Mohammed Rizlan, 13.1 ov), 6-109 (Tamoor Sajjad, 14.1 ov)
Bowling: Imran Arif 4-0-33-3, Ibrarul Haq 2.5-0-27-0, Mohammad Afzal 4-0-23-1, Usman Ali 4-0-29-0, Khawar Abbas 2-0-15-0, Shahbaz Rasheed 2-0-9-0.
Man of the match: Tamoor Sajjad (Qatar)
Standings
ICC World Twenty20 Asia Region Qualifier A
TEAM M W L PTS NRR
UAE 4 4 0 8 1.906
Qatar 4 3 1 6 0.860
Saudi Arabia 4 2 2 4 0.541
Kuwait 4 2 2 4 0.517
Bahrain 4 1 3 2 -1.300
Maldives 4 0 4 0 -2.433
