Doha: Mohammad Ahnaff and Muhammad Tanveer shared a 76-run fourth wicket stand to steer Qatar to a comfortable 5-wicket win against Thailand in the opening match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier B at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium yesterday. Qatar chased down the target of 123 runs in 17.2 overs with Man of the Match Ahnaff making 50 off 47 balls aided with six fours and one six.
Tanveer contributed 48 runs (33 balls) slamming five fours and two sixes. Earlier, after being put into bat, Thailand rode on the knocks of opener Akshaykumar Yadav (37), Sorawat Desungnoen (26), and Nitish Salekar 28 not out (23). Qatar’s left-arm pacer Ikramullah Khan took three wickets for 17 runs while Mirza Baig, Mohammed Nadeem and Saqlain Arshad picked a wicket each to restrict Thailand to 122 for 7.
Meanwhile, United Arab Emirates also made a winning start to their campaign beating Bhutan by 63 runs at the University of Doha for Science and Technology Stadium. Batting first, UAE scored 166 for 6 with captain Alishan Sharafu scoring 50 and Muhammed Waseem making 46. The openers shared a 61-run partnership.
In reply, Bhutan were restricted to 103 for 8 with Thinley Jamtsho being the highest run-getter scoring 28. Off-spinner Dhruv Parashar was the most successful bowler for UAE finishing with 4 for 12 in his four overs while Muhammed Jawadullah claimed 2 for 17. In another match, played at the West End Park International Stadium, Bahrain pipped Saudi Arabia by .