ICC T20 World Cup Final Asia: Oman, Bahrain, Nepal register wins

Aqib Ilyas played a crucial role in Oman’s second victory, hitting 63 from 35 balls, despite Singapore’s determined efforts at Kirtipur during Day 2 of the ICC T20 World Cup Final Asia. Meanwhile, in Mulpani, Bahrain successfully defended their total of 146 against Hong Kong, China, securing their first win in the tournament and keeping their World Cup hopes alive.

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In the afternoon match at Kirtipur, Nepal continued their winning streak by chasing down a target to beat Malaysia by six wickets in front of their home crowd. Similarly, the UAE maintained their winning momentum with a five-wicket victory over Kuwait in Mulpani.

Oman vs Singapore

Singapore won the toss and opted to field first in the morning match at the TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. Oman made a decent start, scoring 41 runs and losing one wicket during the powerplay.

After Kashyap Prajapati was dismissed for 12 from 19 balls, Pratik Athavale and Aqib Ilyas combined to add 50 runs. The partnership was broken when Anish Paraam took the wicket of Athavale, who scored 42 from 32 balls.

Aqib Ilyas reached his sixth T20I half-century in the 14th over, with a remarkable 30 runs off Paraam’s bowling. Ilyas went on to score 63 runs from 35 balls, including four fours and four sixes, before being dismissed by Janak Prakash.

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Singapore made a comeback in the game after Oman lost four wickets in the last four overs, adding 28 runs to finish at 174/6 in 20 overs. Janak Prakash, Ramesh Kalimuthu, and Anish Paraam each took two wickets for Singapore.

In response, Singapore’s batting lineup showed resilience, but Oman’s bowlers had the final say. Despite losing both openers with under 50 runs on the board, Surendran Chandramohan contributed 41 runs from 31 balls. However, he was dismissed hit-wicket. Manpreet Singh and Anish Paraam added 26 and 31 runs, respectively, but a lower-order collapse saw Oman emerge victorious.

Oman’s duo of Bilal Khan and Fayyaz Butt took two wickets each, conceding no more than six runs per over, as they restricted Singapore to 152/8. Shakeel Ahmed, Zeeshan Maqsood, Aqib Ilyas, and Mohammad Nadeem also took one wicket each. Aqib was named the Player of the Match for his match-winning all-round performance.

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Bahrain vs Hong Kong, China

In another ICC T20 World Cup Final Asia match, Hong Kong, China won the toss and chose to field first against Bahrain in the morning match in Mulpani. Bahrain’s batting struggled to challenge Hong Kong, China’s bowling attack as wickets fell regularly throughout the innings.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Imran Ali top-scored with 62 runs from 43 balls, including five fours and three sixes. However, aside from Imran Anwar’s 15 from 14 balls, no other batsman made significant contributions. The innings included 21 extras.

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Nasrulla Rana from Hong Kong, China was the standout bowler, taking 3/21 runs from 3.3 overs. He was supported by Ehsan Khan, Aizaz Khan, and Yasim Murtaza, who all claimed two wickets each.

In response, Bahrain kept taking wickets, putting Hong Kong, China on the backfoot. Both openers were dismissed within the first three overs. Although Hong Kong, China’s batsmen kept the scoreboard ticking, Bahrain’s bowlers continued to take wickets at regular intervals. Eventually, Bahrain emerged victorious as Hong Kong, China lost all ten wickets.

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