(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Mohamed Tanveer and skipper Inam-Ul-Haq led Qatar to an easy 44-run win against Maldives in the 2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asia Region Qualifier A tournament in Kuwait City yesterday.
Tanveer's 53 and Haq's 41 lifted Qatar to a fighting 149 for seven after opting to bat first. In reply, Maldives could only muster 105 for seven in 20 overs as Iqbal Hussain (three for 14) and Haq grabbed five wickets between them.
This was the second successive victory for Qatar in three matches and it placed them at the second spot in the standings behind the leaders United Arab Emirates, who have won all the three matches so far.
Qatar Team Manager Gul Khan Jadoun said: 'Every match is important for us. I'm happy that all the Qatari players realise their responsibility and are trying to put in their 100 percent.
'This was the second victory for us today. We had a good start and we should have got about 10-15 more runs on the board after we were 96 for three inside 13 overs. We'll expect some more efforts from the middle order batsmen, he added.
'But the bowlers did a good job, which helped us record another triumph. We are now in the second spot and have to play Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. This is also a vital match now as Saudi Arabia beat Kuwait easily. We'll try to get the maximum points against them as well, the Qatar team official said.
Opener Faisal Javid Khan hit 25 of the 36 runs he added with Haq for the first wicket. He was bowled by Mohamed Saafee, after he smashed a six and two fours in his 18-ball knock.
Kamran Khan (5 runs) did not last long and was dismissed by MNR Cooray as the scored read 55 for 2. Haq and Tanveer steadied the ship scoring briskly before Qatar captain was dismissed. He cracked four boundaries in his 33-ball 41.
While Qatar lost wickets at regular intervals, Tanveer held the other end and went on to whack three sixes and as many fours. His 41-ball 53 came to an end in the last over when Ibrahim Hassan had him caught by Mohamed Rishwan.
Maldives could not negotiate with the Qatar bowling and barely managed to enter three figures. Awais Malik's dismissal of Abdulla Shahid (10 off 10 balls) at 18 sent them on a slide. Later Hussain and Haq tightened the screws further with five scalps between them and helped the team win easily. Cooray (27 with a four), Mihusan Hamid (24 with a six and two fours) and Ayan Farhath (22 not out with six and a four) were the ones who resisted Qatar to some extent.
In other two matches of the day, the UAE cruised past Bahrain by 51 runs after posting 149 for seven and Saudi Arabia defeated Kuwait, chasing down an easy 93-run target. Usman Ali bowled well to pick five Kuwait wickets for just 23 runs.
Brief scores
Qatar 149 for 7 in 20 overs (Faisal Javid Khan 25, Inam
Haq 41, Mohamed Tanveer 53; Umar Adam 2-0, Mohamed Saafee 2-25) bt Maldives 105 for 7 in 20 overs (Mihusan Hamid 24, MNR Cooray 27; InamHaq 2-22; Iqbal Hussain 2-14) by 44 runs.
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