Day One victories for UAE, Kuwait, Hong Kong, Singapore, Afghanistan, Qatar

Nigel Shroff's 48 runs allowed Hong Kong to beat Oman © HKCA

United Arab Emirates (UAE) surprised hosts Malaysia with a narrow 21 run victory at the Mutiara Rini Oval in Johor Bahru in the opening match of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Under-17 Trophy Challenge today. Batting first UAE scored 152 all out with Aashish Dhingra top scored with 49 while Pranav Arora hit 36. Saravanan Raj took 3 for 34 while Mohd Elmi Abdul Rahman and Mohd Hafiz had two wickets each costing 30 and 33 runs respectively.

Malaysia in reply managed only 131 for 9 at the end of the allotted 45 overs.Mohd Hafiz (28 n.o.), Saravanan Raj (27) and Mohd Kasman (19) featured among the runs. Ahmad Raza and Obaid Hameed took 3 wickets each giving away 10 and 18 runs respectively. Aashish Dhingra was adjudged man of the match.

At the Selangor Turf club Ground in Sungei Besi, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore edged Saudi Arabia by 2 wickets in a closely contested match. Saudi Arabia batted first with the opening pair of Rizwan Manzoor and Raza Zamir grafting for runs. After 13 overs, only 15 runs were on the board. Raza departed courtesy off a run out for 4 . Two quick wickets of captain Shoib Ali and Razzaur Rahman both for a duck followed soon after. However a 68 runs fourth wicket partnership between Rizwan (41) and Ahmad Al Nadwi (45) put on the brakes. The last six wickets fell for 37 runs as Saudi Arabia were all out for 116 off34.5 overs. Rohan Tripathi took 3 for 40 while Mohammed Ifran Madakia had 2 for 5. Jayanth G. and Anirudh Rangarajan had a wicket each.

In reply Singapore was coasting along at 51 runs for 2 wickets at the lunch break. However a middle order batting collapse put a lot of pressure of the lower order batsmen and the score stood at 92 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. Tan Wee Keng (15 n.o.) and Prem Vashdev Dadlani (11 n.o.) put on an unbeaten 28 runs to see Singapore through after some anxious moments where a couple of catches went begging. Shoib Ali and Kazim Ali Narvi captured 3 wickets each costing 20 and 18 respectively. Nasir Anwar took the other wicket to fall as Singapore reached 120 for 8 wickets in 35.4 overs. Rohan Tripathi who top scored with 20 runs and took two good catches and three wickets was adjudged man of the match.

At the Kinrara Oval, Kuwait thrashed Bhutan by 262 runs. Kuwait batting first amassed 302 runs for 7 wickets at the end of allotted 45 overs. Opening batsman Umer Salahudin smashed a brilliant 135 before he retired injured. Umer hit 22 fours and faced 95 balls in a hurricane innings while his partner Ali Raza hit 45 off 46 runs. Jigme Sinyye, Ugyen Dorji and Sushil Sharma took 2 wickets each costing 27, 52 and 58 runs respectively.

In reply Bhutan collapsed for 40 runs all out in 17.2 overs. Only Tashi reached double figures scoring 12 runs. Jasim Shahzad and Ali Raza took 3 wickets each giving away 7 and 11 runs respectively. Sayed Hassan Ali chipped in with 2 for 14 while U.Milinda Dushmantha and Mazen Moez Ali had a wicket each. Umer Salahudin was duly named man of the match.

At Aman Club, Hong Kong defeated Oman by 40 runs through the Duckworth-Lewis Method. Hong Kong batting first scored 231 for 8 in 45 overs. Nigel Shroff (48), Daniel Fullgrabe (42), Ifran Ahmed (38) and Ashish Gadhia (20) batted well for Hong Kong. Akshay Srinivasan took 2 for 33 while Zakria Javed, Sunil Khale, Dhaval Desi, Vijay Bashkar and Vivek Venkataram shared a wicket each.

Rain interrupted play and when play resumed, Oman had to scored 217 in 40 overs for a victory. Vivek Venkataram hit 80 while Sunil Khale (20) and Gautham Venugopal (21) hit some runs in a total of 177 for 7 at the end of allotted 40 overs. Zuaid Khan took 2 for 40. Vivek was named manof the match.

At the Penang Sports Club in Penang, Afghanistan gained a surprised victory over Nepal by 49 runs. Afghanistan batting first scored 176 for 8 in 45 overs. Asghar Hussein batting at number 9 came to the crease with the score 120 runs for 8 wickets. He hit a breezy unbeaten 84 runs off 85 balls to enable his team to reach 176 for 8. Aimal Wafa (32) and Izattullah Khan (21 n.o.) were the other batsmen to score for the Afghan team. Nepal found runs hard to get and they managed only 127 all out in 44.4 overs. Gyanendra Malla top scored with 48 while Nirmal Simangaida chipped in with 25. Izatullah Khan took 5 for 26 off 9 overs and was duly named man of the match.

At the Bayumas Oval in Klang, Qatar defeated Bahrain by 7 runs. Qatar batting first scored 183 while Bahrain reached 176 runs.

Tournament Coverage:

• Official Tournament Website (Malaysian Cricket Association)
• Hong Kong Team Coverage