FINAL – SAUDI ARABIA WIN ACC CHALLENGER CUP AFTER CRUSHING VICTORY OVER BAHRAN

Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were meeting in the final of the ACC Men’s Challenger Cup at TCG in Bangkok after Bahrain and Saudi Arabia had been the two outstanding teams in the Challenger Cup as both teams had won their four previous matches but once Saudi Arabia had won the toss and chosen to bowl they were in a class of their own in the final.  Bahrain were bowled out for 26 and Saudi Arabia claimed victory by ten wickets in 3.5 overs.

As well as meeting in the final of the Challenger Cup Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were worthy qualifiers for the Premier Cup which will be held in Nepal and is the next stage on the ACC’s pathway to the Asia Cup.

Saudi Arabia’s opening attack has been superb in this tournament. Bahrain’s Prashant Kurup was bowled second ball by Atif-ur-Rehman and then Junaid Aziz who got off the mark with 2 runs off his legs was lbw to the fourth ball of the match. Bahrain were 2 for 2 after the first over.

Ishtiaq Ahmad has been even more lethal during the tournament and he dismissed Shahbaz Badar caught behind for nought. Bahrain were 4 for 3 after 2 overs.

Sohail Ahmed was in at number four and he was joined by Ahmer Bin Nasir. Bahrain recovered from a poor start in the semi-final against Thailand but the pressure was relentless as Atif collected his third wicket as Ahmer was trapped lbw without scoring. Three ducks already as Bahrain were 5 for 4 after 3 overs.

Atif-ur-Rehman then took his fourth wicket of the morning as Sohail who had scored 64 in the semi-final was bowled on nought as Bahrain lost their fifth wicket with their score on 5.

Ishtiaq Ahmad now claimed his 11th wicket of the tournament as Bahrain lost their sixth wicket with only eight runs on the board with Haider Ali bowled for 1.

Bahrain had limped to 17 for six after the first 10 overs as left-hander Abdul Malik had hit the only boundary of the innings.

Both opening bowlers were kept on and the move paid off as Sataiyah Veerapatihiran failed to clear mid on to become Ishtiaq Ahmad’s third wicket of the match and his 12th wicket of the tournament. Bahrain were 17 for 7 and five men had been dismissed without scoring.\ Bahrain had moved on to 22 for 7 after 14 overs at drinks.

We have seen an intriguing battle between the two leading wicket-takers with Abdul Malik resisting stoutly with the bat against Ishtiaq Ahmed.

But the first bowling change brought the eighth wicket as Abdul Wahid found the edge of Ali Dawood’s bat as he was caught behind for 3. Bahrain were eight wickets down for 22.

Both opening bowlers had now finished their outstanding spells with Atif recording 8-3-10-4 and Ishtiaq 8-3-6-3.

Abdul Wahid now took his second wicket as Rizwan Butt was caught at gully with Bahrain on the ropes at 24 for 9. Bahrain had edged their way to 25 for 9 in 20 overs with Abdul Malik joined by Zeeshan Abbas.

Left-arm spinner Zainul Abidin claimed the last wicket as Abdul Malik was caught at slip for the top score of 7 as Bahrain were dismissed for 26 in 21.1 overs which was the lowest total of the tournament.

Abdul Wahid finished with figures of 2 for 3’and Zainul Abidin 1 for 1 as they backed up Atif-ur-Rehman and Ishtiaq Ahmad to perfection.

Saudi Arabia could not have dreamed of requiring a target of 27 and their openers were not letting Bahrain’s bowlers settle and were going for their shots. Waqar-ul-Hassan hit Rizwan Butt for four second ball and swept left-arm spinner Abdul Malik for six. Abdul Waheed levelled the scores with three runs so it was left to Waqar to hit the winning boundary. Waqar-ul-Hasan was unbeaten on 16 and had not been dismissed in five innings in this tournament.

Saudi Arabia needed only 3.5 overs to win by 10 wickets and deservedly become the first winners of the ACC Men’s Challenger Cup.

Atif-ur-Rehman was named player of the match for his outstanding opening spell when he claimed four of the first five wickets when just five runs were on the board.

Best batsman of the tournament was Padmakar Surve of Indonesia. The bowler of the tournament was Abdul Majid of Bahrain but the player of the tournament was Ishtiaq Ahmad of Saudi Arabia. Thailand won the ACC Spirit of Cricket award.

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