Singapore, UAE, Hong Kong enter last eight

Kathmandu, November 14:

Singapore, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates registered wins and entered the quarter-finals of the ACC Under-19 Cup cricket tournament. The teams — who entered the last eight as runners up from their groups — joined Nepal, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Malaysia.

Afghanistan, Oman and Saudi Arabia joined Brunei, Iran, Thailand, and Maldives in the eliminated list of the 15-nation event. In Wednesday’s quarter-finals, it’s: Nepal vs Singapore at TU Stadium; Kuwait vs Hong Kong at Tundikhel; Bahrain vs Qatar at Institute of Engineering (IoE); and UAE vs Malaysia at Birendra Sainik Awasiya Mahavidyalaya (BSAM).

On Monday, Singapore defeated Oman by two wickets at TU Stadium. Batting first after winning the toss, Oman was bowled out for 129 runs in 46.3 overs. Skipper Ahmed Al Balushi, batting at No 6, top-scored in the innings with 28 off 40 balls including three fours. Mohammed Imran hit the only six of the match in his 27-ball 23, while wicketkeeper Pranav Mehra scored 16.

For Singapore, Jackie Manoj took 4-16 off 7.3 overs, while Mayank Dalakoti claimed the wickets of first three batsmen — Jibran Yousuf (1), Rafeeq Mohammed (1) and Ali Bilal (4) —conceding just four runs in his full quota of 10 overs. In reply, Singapore overcame the target losing eight wickets in 42.3 overs, riding on No 8 batsman Vignesh Balasubramanium’s unbeaten 39 off 94 balls which included four hits to the fence. Opener Rohan Tripathi scored 17 off 22 balls hitting three fours, while Jackie Manoj scored 22 off 70 balls. For Oman, Mustaq Syed took five wickets conceding 43 runs in 10 overs, while Rafeeq Mihammed claimed two wickets. Jackie Manoj of Singapore was declared the man of the match. At Tundikhel, Hong Kong eliminated Saudi Arabia with a 92-run win. Batting first, Hong Kong was bowled out for 173 runs in 45.5 overs, but Saudi Arabia failed to capitalise on the chance and was packed off for 81 runs in 34.5 overs.

No 5 Irfan Ahmed top-scored in the match with 42 of 71 balls hitting three boundaries, while No 2 batsman James John Atkinson scored 33 off 67 balls. Sajid Mehmood scored 22 off 29 balls and Nadeem Ahmed Shakeel contributed 16 runs. For Saudi Arabia, Imran Nasir and Shahzad Anwar took three wickets each. In reply, Afghanistan faltered and was packed for just 81 runs. Hussain Malik top-scored in the innings with 30 off 49 balls hitting four fours and a six, while Salman Jabber became the only other batsman to reach the double figure mark with 10 off 32 balls.

For Hong Kong, Irfan Ahmed took 4-12 off seven overs, while Khuram Shahzad and Nadeem Ahmed got two wickets each. Irfan Ahmed of Hong Kong was declared the man of the match.

At BSAM, UAE defeated Afghanistan by seven wickets. Batting first, Afghanistan was bowled out for 134 runs in 30.4 overs. Opener Javid Ahmadi scored 24 off 19 balls hitting five boundaries, while other opener also hit five fours in his 31-ball 23. For UAE, Syed Md Fawad took 5-26 off 10 overs and won the man of the match award. In reply, Abdul Rahman hit unbeaten half century as UAE registered a comfortable victory losing wickets in 37 overs. Rahman hit eight fours in his 60-ball 50, while Rameez Shahzad remained unbeaten on 30 off 47 balls including four boundaries. Sharan Kumar hit three boundaries in his 59-ball 27, and opener Vivek R Thomas scored 11 off 43 balls.