Amir Azim, Anwar Rahman Heroics not enough as Qatar win by 4 Runs |
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07/08/2022POSTED BY Malaysian Cricket Association Admin |
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Qatar survived valiant partnerships for the ninth and tenth wickets, respectively to defend their total of 181 for 9 against Malaysia. After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, Qatar lost opener Kamran Khan after he got a thick outside edge off the bowling of Wafiq Irfan, which was pouched by Saifullah Malik. Three balls later, Syed Aziz drew the outside edge of Imal Liyanage to get the number three batter caught by Sharvin Muniandy at slip. After a brief period of consolidation from Qatar, Zaheer Ibrahim dispatched Muniandy for two fours in his very first over. The Malaysian seamer, however, would have the last laugh. A few overs later, he induced Ibrahim’s outside edge, which was taken by keeper Ainool Hafizs to leave Qatar struggling at 43 for 3 in the 14th over. Anwar Rahman was then introduced into the attack and dismissed Muhammad Tanveer caught and bowled for 10 before dismissing well-set Moahmmed Rizlan for 46 to leave Qatar 113 for 5 in the 31st over. Despite numerous efforts to rebuild their innings, Qatar were repeatedly pegged back by Malaysia’s bowlers who eventually restricted the gulf nation to 181 for 9 in their allotted 50 overs. With Malaysia needing 182 for victory, Muhammad Murad struck two crucial blows in just the second over of the innings. He trapped Syed Aziz in front of his stumps before Ahmad Faiz pulled Murad straight into the hands of Zaheer Ibrahim to leave Malaysia in a spot of bother at 4 for 2. Virandeep Singh then walked in at four and looked to be at his fluent best, dispatching Murad through the off side for two fours. Needing a wicket, Qatar skipper Rizlan turned to left-arm spinner Muhammad Nadeem, who delivered straight away when he trapped Virandeep in front for 25. Sharvin Muniandy then edged Muhammad Tanveer through to Rizlan behind the stumps to leave Malaysia reeling at 42 for 4 in the tenth over. Still at the crease, opener Saifullah Malik drove Nadeem for six in an attempt to wrestle some momentum back for Malaysia. Nadeem would get his revenge when Malik drove him into the hands of Akash Babu. Ainool Hafizs and Wafiq Irfan would also depart cheaply as Malaysia found themselves at 59 for 8 in the 17th over of their chase. Amir Azim, however, had not given up. He pulled Tanveer away for four before driving Nadeem to the boundary to kickstart his innings. Azim would then take the aerial route for another pair of boundaries before pulling a returning Murad away for his fifth four of the innings. With number ten batter Pavandeep Singh providing able support from the other end, Malaysia eventually reached a stage where they only needed a further 69 runs to win. Sadly for them, Rizlan would run out Pavandeep to leave Malaysia at 113 for 9 in the 28th over. With plenty of time left in the chase, Amir Azim dropped down a gear as he chose to trade his counter-attacking strokes for risk-free singles and twos. With the equation shrinking to 41 off 62 balls, Rahman, who had walked in at number eleven, cut a long hop from Ibrahim to the backward point boundary before tucking a useful two runs off his hips. Azim and Rahman continued to milk the singles until Rahman decided to loft Mohammed Imraz over mid off for four to reduce the equation even further down to 20 off 32. Feeling more confident with each passing over, the Malaysian number eleven reverse swept Nadeem for two in the 47th over to make it 12 needed off 22. Muhammad Murad then strayed onto Rahman’s pads in the 48th over and was whipped away to square leg for four before being tucked away for two on the on side. With just 5 needed off 14 deliveries, Malaysia were finally in the driver’s seat. Yet, their hopes of registering their first win of the Canada leg of Challenge League A were dashed when Rahman was struck on the pads by Murad and was subsequently adjudged LBW. Rahman fell to the ground in despair as he was consoled by both Azim and Qatar’s players. Brief Scores: Qatar 181 for 9 in 50 Overs (Mohammed Imraz 47*, Rizlan 46, Syahadat Ramli 3-24) beat Malaysia 177 All Out in 47.5 Overs (Amir Azim 71*, Anwar Rahman 30, Muhammad Tanveer 3-14, Murad 3-37) by 4 runs |
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