DAY 3: QATAR GIVEN A TOUGH TIME BY THAILAND, SAUDI ARABIA TOO STRONG FOR BAHRAIN

Qatar maintained their lead at the top of the table in the ICC World Cricket League Qualifier - Asia in Chiang Mai as they recorded their third win by beating Thailand by 60 runs at Gymkhana Club. Qatar were put under pressure by the hosts as they were bowled out for 160 in 45.2 overs but Qatar have a formidable fast bowler in Awais Malik who was named man of the match for figures of 4 for 17 in 8 overs as Thailand were dismissed for 100.. Qatar captain Inam-ul Haq paid tribute to his match-winning fast bowler and to the Thailand team who had given his side a tough time in a difficult match
After two days packed with milestones for the batsmen, bowlers held sway on the third day of the tournament. Saudi Arabia are hot on the heels of Qatar in the table as they recorded their second win in two matches as they overcame Bahrain by six wickets at Royals after bowling them out for just 78. Bhutan won their first match at the third attempt as they beat China by ten wickets after Jigme Singye had taken 8 for 24 and scored an unbeaten 38 on his old school ground at Prem.
Qatar won the toss and batted first at Gymkhana but Thailand made an excellent start with the ball. 17-year-old Kamron Senamontree had been called into the squad as a replacement and marked his debut for Thailand by taking a wicket with his third ball as he bowled Iman-ul-Haq for 1.
Senamontree claimed his second wicket of an outstanding opening spell when he had Qalandar Khan caught behind for 20 to leave Qatar on 33 for 2. After they had passed the fifty mark in 14 overs, elder brother Noppon took the third wicket. Younger brother Komron bowls right-arm medium but Noppon bowls slow left-arm and Khurram Shahzad was caught at slip by Sameer Gawas. The brothers bowled in tandem after Komron was brought back to finish his 10 overs with outstanding figures of 2 for 22.
Noppon then claimed his second wicket of the day as he had wicket-keeper batsman Mohammed Rizlan bowled for 24 as Qatar have slipped to 78 for 4 after 23 overs. It kept getting better and better for the Senamontree brothers as Noppon collected his third wicket as he had Zaheer Ibrahmin caught at slip by a diving Sameer Gawas to leave Qatar on 101 for 5.
Excitement was mounting at Gymkhana as first the dangerous Tamoor Sajjad hit 18 from an over of off-spin from Payupath Sungnard with a six and three fours, only to be caught behind off the bowling of Vichanath Singh for 32 from 29 balls as Qatar slipped to 127 for 6. Noppon Senamontree finished his spell with excellent figures of 10-3-35-3 and captain Daniel Jacobs brought himself on to bowl his leg-spin.
Thailand were on fire in the field against Qatar at Gymkhana. Vichanath Singh completed a very tidy spell of left-arm spin to return figures of 1 for 21 in 10 overs and Gawas followed two slip catches with a brilliant run out as he ran in, picked up and through down the stumps with an under-arm throw. Qatar then lost their eighth wicket as Iqbal was caught behind off Jacobs.

Awais Malik was brilliantly caught and bowled by Wanchana Uisuk as he held on to a low catch and the innings soon finished on 160 all out in 45.2 overs as Uisuk also claimed the last wicket as Nouman Sarwar was caught at short mid-off by Gawas who had had a remarkable day in the field.
With the Senamontree brothers sharing the first five wickets and the last five Qatar wickets falling for 33, Thailand's efforts in the field had surpassed expectations against a team who had convincingly won their first two matches. Thailand needed an inviting 161 in 50 overs for victory.
The home side were soon in trouble as in form opener Wanchana Uisuk left a straight ball from the formidable Awais Malik in the first over and Shafiqul Haque soon followed lbw to leave Thailand two wickets down with only one run on the board. Worse was to come as Awais took his third wicket as Naveed Pathan, having hit one powerful boundary, was brilliantly caught at third man by Mohammad Nadeem to leave Thailand five for three.
Thailand didn’t give up and fought hard as opener Sarbjot Singh was joined by captain Daniel Jacobs. The pair concentrated on survival at first as the score moved on to 16 after 10 overs but they were able to rotate the strike once the field had gone back for the spinners and each hit one boundary as the fifty came up in the 20th over.
The run out of Sarbjot Singh for 18 probably proved the turning point of the match. He and Jacobs had looked in control after coming together at five for three but the captain called for an impossible single. Ryan Raina, with two fifties to his name, soon followed, lbw to Zaheer Ibrahim for just 1 and Thailand had slipped to 53 for 5.
Thailand had moved on to 72 for 5 from 28 overs with Jacobs on 36 and Gawas on 4 when the weather intervened but Thailand were still in touch as they were 23 runs behind the Duckworth Lewis par score.
Play got under way after a 45 minute delay with no overs lost and Thailand required 89 more runs to win from 22 overs with five wickets in hand. Qatar immediately called back opening bowler Awais Malik but it was Mohammad Nadeem who struck as Gawas was caught at short cover by Iman-ul-Haq
Qatar claimed their seventh wicket as Awais was too fast for Payaputh Sungnard's defensive shot but Thailand did not go down without a fight as Noppon Senamontree hit a six and Daniel Jacobs a pair of fours as Thailand required 71 from 17 overs with the captain approaching his fifty.
A great day for the Senamontrees seemed to continue as Noppon hit his second six to move to 12 but it all went wrong as captain Jacobs tried to push for another single and again managed only to run out his partner. Thailand were 99 for 8 at the start of the 36th over and younger brother Komron was then bowled by Inam-ul-Haq.
The end came quickly at Jacobs completed his fifty from 88 balls and five fours with a single but it was all in vain as Vichanath Singh was bowled by Mohammad Nadeem for nought and Thailand were bowled out for 100 in 36.4 overs. Qatar had been pressed hard throughout the day but had shown great resilience to win by a fairly comfortable 60 runs.
Saudi Arabia made it two wins out of two as they made up for lost time after a delayed start to beat Bahrain by six wickets at Royals. Both sides had won their opening matches in impressive fashion so it was expected to be a close contest. Saudi Arabia won the toss and chose to bowl first and soon took control as Ibrarul Haq made an immediate impact as he took two wickets in his second over. Imran Ali Butt was out for four and Mohammad Sameer followed for a second ball duck after making a century against Thailand.
Danger man Janaka Chaturanga who had made 144 against Thailand soon followed and. Bahrain were five wickets down inside 12 overs. Saudi Arabia kept up the pressure on as Ibrarul Haq took four for 36 and leg-spinner Imran Arif followed figures of 3 for 2 against China with 4 for 4 against Bahrain who were dismissed for 78 in 20 overs.
Saudi Arabia then overcame the loss of both openers for ducks to reach their target with four wickets down and 29.5 overs to spare. Hammad Saeed made 27 and Mohammad Mazhar an unbeaten 21 as Saudi Arabia reached 79 for 4 in 20.1 overs.
China have suffered a torrid time in the field on the first two days of the competition as they twice conceded more than 400 runs so it was perhaps not surprising that they chose to bat first against Bhutan on winning the toss at Prem. Bhutan opened the bowling with leg-spinner Jigme Singye and he was clearly enjoying the return to his old school ground as he claimed the first three wickets to leave China on 27 for 3 after 10 overs.
China had tried to change their luck by batting first but Jigme took eight for 24 with his leg-spin as China were dismissed for 56 in 20.3 overs. The Bhutan captain followed by hitting an unbeaten 38 in 22 balls as his team reached their target in 5.1 overs. Bhutan have won their first match of the tournament at the third attempt but China are looking out of their depth at this level.
Day three of the ICC World Cricket League Qualifier – Asia had been dominated by the bowlers but it is still Qatar and Saudi Arabia that look to be the teams to beat at the top of the table. Both countries have competitive matches on the fourth day as leaders Qatar face Bahrain at Gymkhana and second placed Saudi Arabia play Kuwait at Prem, while Thailand take on China at Royals