In response, Qatari left-arm tweaker Mohammed Nadeem’s 4/10 helped to bundle the tourists for just 56. The afternoon game saw Qatar assert their dominance over the Maldives, as the hosts posted 154/6 in their 20 with Mohammed Rizlan’s 62 (46) the top score.

Rajiva Sandaruwan (49 off 31) and Adnan Idrees (39 off 18) did the damage for Kuwait. Led by skipper Mohammed Aslam’s 3/13 off 4, Kuwait restricted Bahrain to 124/8 and then chased it inside 12 overs. The Saudi response was clinical, with Faisal Khan’s 41 (24) setting the tone as they passed the target in 15.1 overs with seven wickets to spare.ĭay two saw Kuwait get off the mark against Bahrain, with a NRR-bosting win of their own. Three runouts added to their woes, and they concluded 20 overs on just 98/9. After choosing to bat at the toss, the islanders struggled to get going in the face of a disciplined team bowling effort where all six bowlers collected a wicket. The second match saw another big win as Saudi Arabia cruised home against the bottom-ranked Maldives. The tourists reached victory in just 13.1 overs with 8 wickets in hand. The response was a demolition, as Bahraini opener Muhammad Younis smashed 6 sixes on his way to 82* (44). Opting to bowl first at the toss, Bahrain kept the hosts to 133/5 in their 20 overs, led by a tidy spell of 2/23 from left-arm orthodox Abdul Majid. On the first day’s play, Bahrain set down a marker as they thumped Qatar in their own backyard at the Al-Arabi Stadium in Doha. Run from the 23rd to the 29th of October, the Asia Western Subregional qualifier featured Bahrain, Kuwait, Maldives, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in a single round-robin format. While Scotland and Namibia continued to fly the Associate flag in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Asian qualifying for the 2022 edition wrapped up with Bahrain edging Qatar on Net Run Rate to progress to the global qualifiers early next year.

Fist of the first man