Bahrain confirmed a place in last eight while Malaysia and Kuwait topped the groups with third wins. Qatar was stunned by Thailand on the fifth day of the ACC U-19 Cup.
Bahrain v Brunei, Group A
Gayan DeSilva scored a brilliant double century while Salman Sattar bowled a memorable 8/15 as Bahrain thrashed Brunei by 349 runs at Institute of Engineering Ground to enter the quarterfinal of the ACC U-19 Cup.
Bahrain choosing to bat first put 383/4 in allotted 50 overs. Gayan scoring two runs in the last ball of the innings completed his double century. His 140-ball knock included 30 boundaries. Gayan along with Danish Jasnaik, who himself got a century, added unbeaten 232-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
Jasnaik played 78 balls for his 102 not out and scored 15 fours. It was particularly punishing for the Brunei bowlers.
In reply, Salman, the opening bowler sharing the ball with Gayan, got into dangerous form. His 9.2 overs cost him only 15 runs while awarded him eight wickets as Brunei were all out for 34 runs – including 11 extra runs. Gayan took a wicket while one Brunei batsman was run out. No Brunei batsmen reached double figure.
Bahrain will meet Qatar in the quarterfinal.
Kuwait v Iran, Group B
Kuwait too registered big win against Iran to emerge the Group B winner and will now meet the winner of Hong Kong v Saudi Arabia match in the quarters.
Kuwait scored 364/9 – thanks to Habbibullah Iftikar’s 153, and bowled out Iran for 62 runs for a 302-run victory.
Electing to bat, Kuwait got a good start and their batsmen kept the momentum going until the match is finished. Iftikar partnered Ali Raza 126 runs for fourth wicket. Raza got 50 with five boundaries. Other contributor included Abdul Rehman Laiqat who got 33*. Iranian bowlers gave away 40 extra runs.
Ali Asgar Chasteh took three wickets giving away 67 runs in his 7 overs while Aref Balooch got three for 69 in 10 overs.
In reply, Iran failed to cope with Kuwaiti bowling losing wickets at regular interval after the openers gave them a steady start. Openers got 23 runs on board which is the biggest partnership of the innings.
Ali Shedad got five wickets for 21 runs while man of the match Habbibullah got three wickets in his two overs giving away only two runs. Sibtain Raza got two.
Qatar v Thailand, Group C
Thailand stunned Qatar, who had already secured quarterfinal spot as the Group C winner, for a consolation win. Thailand who managed a five-wicket win will finish the group third with eight points from three games. Singapore and Oman each had 5 points and will play the deciding match on Monday.
Thailand who were already eliminated bowled out Qatar for 115 runs with Darshil Shah taking three wickets and scored the required runs in 29.4 overs losing five wickets.
Qatar lost the first wicket in the second over but Kamran Khan (17) and Tamoor Sajjad (15)steadied the innings with 38-run partnership before Thai bowlers took five quick wickets. From 41/1, Qatar went down to 59/6 losing five wickets in space of 5.3 overs.
Qaman Sadiq (34 off 72 balls) and Hasaan Ali (16 of 64) denied fall of more wickets but scored very slow. Qatari managed to stay for 45.1 overs scoring 115 runs. Darshil was well supported by Akshay Desai and Nopphon Sinamontrle who each took two wickets.
Thailand played for the victory. Opener Sunil Nalinvilawan, who was later adjudged man of the match, scored unbeaten half-century. He was slow but patient. His 136-ball knock got his six fours and 52 runs as Thai romped home in 45.4 overs.
Besides, Sunil, Nishadh Rego and Darshil Shah each scored 13 runs. Darshil shared an unbeaten 34-run partnership with Sunil. Saheer Uddin Ibrahim took two for Qatar.
Qatar will play Bahrain in the quarters.
Malaysia v Maldives, Group D
Malaysia topped Group D with a 191-run victory over Maldives. With three wins in as many matches, Malaysia now will meet the winner of Afghanistan v UAE match for the quarters.
Malaysia, choosing to bat first, scored 275/5 in 50 overs. Mohd Ariffin Ramly remained unbeaten on 98 while Darwin Muralitharan got 80. They shared a 185-run partnership for fourth wicket. In reply, Maldives were bowled out for 84 runs with Darwin taking five wickets.
Ramly played 130 balls and scored seven fours but unfortunately could not complete his century. Darwin played 109 balls for his 80 and hit four boundaries. Maldives bowlers gave away 46 extra runs.
In reply, Darwin aided by opening Manrik Singh ripped through Maldives batting lineup. Manrick took three in his seven overs giving away 20 runs while Darwin gave only five runs in 3.4 overs to end the Maldives innings taking five wickets.
On Monday, Singapore will play Oman, Hong Kong will meet Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan lock horns with UAE. Each of the matches is do-or-die match with the winner going into second round and the loser returning home.