Malaysia Defeats Saudi Arabia by 18 Runs in Final

Malaysia faced Saudi Arabia in the Malaysia Quadrangular T20I Series held in Kuala Lumpur, where they secured an 18-run victory in the final match. 

Despite this win, they finished the tournament in second place with 9 points and a net run rate of +1.221, while Saudi Arabia clinched the top spot with 10 points. Malaysia chose to bat first but was restricted to 135 runs in their 20 overs by a disciplined Saudi Arabian bowling attack, which conceded only 5 extras. 

The top order struggled, with Aslam Khan being the only batter to reach double figures. Fortunately, the middle order featuring Amir Khan Malik, Ahmed Aqeel, and Sharvin Muniandy stepped up to stabilize the innings, contributing scores of 38, 44, and 20 runs, respectively. 

Manan Ali took a catch off Imtiaz Khan’s bowling to dismiss Vijay Unni with the team’s score at 132. Khan was the standout bowler for Saudi Arabia in the final, taking 3 wickets in 4 overs with an economy rate of 6.50. Ishtiaq Ahmad and Zain Ul Abidin also made significant contributions by picking up two wickets each.

Saudi Arabia fell short by 18 runs, managing to score 117 runs for the loss of 10 wickets. They started strong, accumulating 47 runs during the powerplay, but lost wickets at regular intervals. Opener Abdul Waheed Ghaffar laid a solid foundation with a commendable 44 runs from 26 deliveries, including 4 fours and 3 sixes. Faisal Khan, batting at No. 2, was the first wicket to fall after scoring 2 runs. 

Notably, all-rounder Khan, who had earlier impressed with the ball, ended the innings not out with 0 runs from 0 balls, with the final wicket falling before he had a chance to face a ball. Four Malaysian bowlers picked up two wickets each, while Virandeep Singh claimed one wicket from his four overs.