• Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe 2-1 in T20I series and 2-0 in ODI series    • New Zealand beat England by 423 runs in the third and final Test to win the series 2-1    • South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 109 runs in second Test to win two-Test series 2-0    • England beat New Zealand by eight wickets in first Test at Christchurch    • South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 233 runs in first Test at Durban    • Sri Lanka bowled out for 42 by South Africa in Durban, their lowest total in Test cricket    • Afghanistan beat Bangladesh in third ODI to clinch series 2-1    • New Zealand women beat South Africa women to lift ICC T20 World Cup title    • New Zealand, Australia make it to T20 World Cup semi-finals from Group A    • England beat Pakistan by innings and 47 runs in first Test    


Story

Gulf Cricket T20I: Oman through to final with win over Kuwait

23 Sep, 2023

Oman beat Kuwait by 68 runs to qualify for the title clash of the Gulf Cricket T20I Championship against United Arab Emirates. Bahrain beat UAE in another game to finish fourth

Oman crushed Kuwait by 68 runs to enter the final of the Gulf Cricket T20I Championship at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium in Doha.

Skipper and No. 3 batsman Aqib Ilyas scored 44 off 34 balls while No. 4 batsman Ayaan Khan hit 38 off 28 balls to take Oman to 171/6 in 20 overs in the last league match on Friday night. The two batted well after opener Naseem Khushi had hit three sixes for his 25 to provide a quick start to the Omani side.

Medium-pacer Sayed Monib took 3/26 for Kuwait but could not find help from the other bowlers.   

Whatever hope Kuwait had of chasing the target disappeared in thin air as Pakistan-born pacers, left-armer Bilal Khan (2/7) and right-armer Fayyaz Butt (2/5), wreaked havoc at the top, reducing Kuwait to four wickets for just two runs. Kuwait soon found themselves at 13/5 and their hopes dashed.

Shakeel Ahmed took 2/13 while Ayaan Khan and Rafiullah took one wicket each as Kuwait struggled to 103/9 in 20 overs. Skipper Mohammed Aslam was the top-scorer with 44 off 34 balls, which he did at No. 7.

Oman’s left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Ayaan Khan was the Player of the Match.

Oman now face United Arab Emirates in the final on Saturday night.

Brief Scores: Oman 171/6 in 20 overs (Aqib Ilyas 44, Ayaan Khan 38, Sayed Monib 3/26) beat Kuwait 103/9 in 20 overs (Mohammed Aslam 44, Shakeel Ahmed 2/13, Fayyaz Butt 2/5, Bilal Khan 2/7) by 68 runs.

Bahrain win by three runs against UAE

Bahrain defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by three runs to finish in fourth place with six points, above Kuwait (4 points) and below UAE (8), Oman (6) and Qatar (6).

Both Qatar (-0.503) and Bahrain (-0.518) had inferior run rates to Oman (+1.110), which allowed the Omanis to go through to the title clash. They all are on six points. Bahrain scored 150/5 in 20 overs while UAE ended at 147/7 in 20 overs.

Brief Scores: Bahrain 150/5 in 20 overs (Haider Butt 34, Junaid Aziz 31) beat UAE 147/7 in 20 overs (Muhammad Waseem 31, Vriitya Aravind 28, Mohammed Faraazuddin 21 not out, Ali Dawood 2/37, Imran Anwar 2/33) by three runs.

Cricket, Oman, Gulf Cricket T20I Championship, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain

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