Kuwait romp past Oman for semi-final berth

Kuwait qualified for the semi-finals of the Youth Asia Cup after humbling Oman by six wickets at the Quaid-e-Azam Park in Karachi on Wednesday. In the other match of the day at National Stadium, Malaysia smashed Thailand by eight wickets.

In the feature match of the day, Kuwait's bowlers bowled out of their skins to dismiss Oman for a modest 85 in 35.3 overs. The fast bowlers Abdullah Iftikhar and Waqas Jamil picked up three wickets apiece conceding 13 and 19 runs respectively. Left-arm spinner Ali Shahzad maintained Kuwait's grip on the match by also accounting for three Omani batsmen at the cost of 21 runs.

Nishadh Thomas loses his bails Photo © ACC

Kuwait faced few problems in overhauling the target in 19.5 overs with opener Saim Shibli hitting 31.

After the league rounds, in Pool B Kuwait finished second behind an unbeaten Malaysia while Nepal topped Pool A with Qatar finishing runners-up. In Friday's semi-finals, Kuwait face Nepal while Qatar take on Malaysia.

At the National Stadium, Thailand managed only 108 in 48.5 overs and this was easily achieved by Malaysia in 16.2 overs losing just two wickets. The victory ensured that like Nepal, Malaysia also reached the knock-out stage with an unblemish record.

Scores in brief:
Oman 85 in 35.3 overs (Abdullah Iftikhar 3-13, Waqas Jamil 3-19, Ali Shahzad 3-21) lost to Kuwait 86-3 in 19.5 overs (Saim Shibli 31) by six wickets.

Thailand 108 in 48.5 overs (Radzman Zabri 2-6) lost to Malaysia 109-2 in 16.2 overs (Suhan Kumar 35, Sathiswaran 33 not out) by eight wickets