Global Game: Qualifiers aplenty for future ICC tournaments
While Scotland and Namibia continued to fly the Associate flag in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Asian qualifying for the 2022 edition wrapped up with Bahrain edging Qatar on Net Run Rate to progress to the global qualifiers early next year.
Run from the 23rd to the 29th of October, the Asia Western Subregional qualifier featured Bahrain, Kuwait, Maldives, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in a single round-robin format. On the first day’s play, Bahrain set down a marker as they thumped Qatar in their own backyard at the Al-Arabi Stadium in Doha.
Opting to bowl first at the toss, Bahrain kept the hosts to 133/5 in their 20 overs, led by a tidy spell of 2/23 from left-arm orthodox Abdul Majid. The response was a demolition, as Bahraini opener Muhammad Younis smashed 6 sixes on his way to 82* (44). The tourists reached victory in just 13.1 overs with 8 wickets in hand. The second match saw another big win as Saudi Arabia cruised home against the bottom-ranked Maldives. After choosing to bat at the toss, the islanders struggled to get going in the face of a disciplined team bowling effort where all six bowlers collected a wicket. Three runouts added to their woes, and they concluded 20 overs on just 98/9. The Saudi response was clinical, with Faisal Khan’s 41 (24) setting the tone as they passed the target in 15.1 overs with seven wickets to spare.
Day two saw Kuwait get off the mark against Bahrain, with a NRR-bosting win of their own. Led by skipper Mohammed Aslam’s 3/13 off 4, Kuwait restricted Bahrain to 124/8 and then chased it inside 12 overs. Rajiva Sandaruwan (49 off 31) and Adnan Idrees (39 off 18) did the damage for Kuwait. The afternoon game saw Qatar assert their dominance over the Maldives, as the hosts posted 154/6 in their 20 with Mohammed Rizlan’s 62 (46) the top score. In response, Qatari left-arm tweaker Mohammed Nadeem’s 4/10 helped to bundle the tourists for just 56.
The unpredictability continued on the third match day, as Saudi Arabia overcame Kuwait in a tight chase. Sent in to bat, Kuwait reached 146/8 in their 20, as captain Mohammed Aslam produced with the bat to hit 55 (41). The Saudi chase was led by openers Sajid Cheema (52 off 30) and Faisal Khan (37 off 22), who combined for a 92-run stand in 7.3 overs. Kuwait’s bowling comeback was led by off-spinner Adnan Idrees, who dismissed both openers on his way to 2/16 in his 4 overs, then Aslam derailed the middle order with 3/38 in his quota. Kuwait didn’t quite have enough runs on the board though, as the Saudis got home with an over and four wickets to spare.
After Tuesday’s rest day, the Maldives again struggled on Wednesday morning with Bahrain keeping them to 88/9 in their 20, thanks to left-arm Waseeq Ahmed’s 3/14 and fast man Anasim Khan’s 3/15. Muhammad Younis smashed 31 (13) to ensure the chase was a formality, with Bahrain getting home 3 wickets down in the seventh over. The afternoon match was much closer, with Qatar edging a tight contest against Saudi Arabia. Sent in at the toss, Faisal Khan led the Saudis to 130/9 in their 20 with 42 (29), but he didn’t receive enough support; left-arm seamer Muhammad Murad’s 3/17 did the damage for Qatar. In reply, the hosts wobbled after early wickets, but Imal Liyanage’s steady 44 (45) kept them in the chase before bowling hero Murad hit a six in the last over to get over the line with just two balls to spare.
On Thursday it was Kuwait with an easy win over the Maldives, despite Ahmed Hassan’s 42 (38) taking the islanders past the hundred-run mark for the first time in the tournament; 3/17 from Adnan Idrees ensured they were dismissed for 103. Edson Silva carried the chase for Kuwait with 58 (29), and they got home in 12 overs. The afternoon match saw the tournament enter the home stretch with Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia all equal on points. Bahrain staked their claim for top spot with an entertaining win over Saudi Arabia, with the top order firing (led by 67 off 45 to Sarfaraz Ali) to reach the tournament-high total of 179/9. The Saudi response looked promising while Abdul Wahid (72* off 40) was at the crease, but Anasim Khan’s 2/22 in his 4 overs made the difference to restrict Saudi Arabia to 161/6 in their allotment.
Friday’s last match was a shootout between Kuwait and Qatar, with both needing a big win to overtake Bahrain’s NRR. Qatar would have been confident going into the innings break, after their left-arm orthodox Musawar Shah grabbed 3/18 in his four overs to restrict Kuwait to just 126/9 in their 20 overs. Needing to reach the target in either just under or just over 11 overs (depending on how much they overshot by), the Qatari batters made a good fist of it, with Andri Berenger’s 37 (16) leading the charge. Ultimately reaching victory with two wickets to spare in 11.5 overs, they were six balls short of dethroning Bahrain, who now move on to the next round of qualifying.
ICC qualifying pathways continue this week, with the Africa Subregional B getting underway on the 2nd of November. Botswana, Cameroon, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Tanzania will battle it out in Rwanda for the final place in the Africa regional final, which is scheduled for the 15th to the 21st of November.
In the Americas, meanwhile, action starts on the 7th of November between Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Canada, Panama and the USA, with two teams progressing through to the global qualifiers next year.