Bahrain snuck a thrilling one-run victory over Oman off the last ball of the match in their fourth game of the Gulf Cricket T20I Championship 2023 at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium in Doha last night.
Needing 124 to win off 20 overs, Oman had slumped to 112 for seven at the end of the 19th over, still needing 12 runs to win as medium-pacer Sathaiya Veerapathiran began the final over of the innings.
Naseem Khushi, Oman’s last recognised batsman, launched his first ball into the stands, leaving Oman only six to get off the last five balls but then perished, trying to repeat the shot as he was caught by Haider Butt off the very next ball.
Oman were 118 for eight now, with six still needed for victory and two tail-enders at the crease. But Fayyaz Butt and Shakeel Ahmed could only manage singles off the next three balls meaning Ahmed faced up to Veerapathiran’s last ball with Oman needing three to win and two runs to tie the game.
But Ahmed was run-out, attempting a second run that would have tied the score, by a brilliant throw by Haider Butt to wicketkeeper Imran Ali.
When the Oman innings began, it was star fast bowler Rizwan Butt who threw a spanner into their run-chase by taking two wickets in successive overs to reduce them to 10 for two in the fourth over.
Oman never recovered from the early setbacks and when Butt returned for his third over – the innings’ 16th – had slumped to 86 for four.
Butt prised out Mehran Khan for three off his third delivery and claimed the crucial scalp of opener and top-scorer Kashyap Prajapati for 49 in his next over with Oman now 107 for seven after 17.5 overs and sliding towards an eventual defeat.
The fast bowler finished with the excellent figures of four for 26 – his second four-wicket haul in consecutive matches.
Earlier, batting first after Oman captain Aqib Ilyas won the toss and sent them in, Bahrain got off to the worst start imaginable, losing skipper Umer Toor for his second successive duck and Imran Anwar, promoted to number three, also without scoring in the first over bowled by Bilal Khan.
Imran Ali, the other opener, and Haider Butt combined for a rapid 56-run partnership for the third wicket off just 58 balls before Butt fell for an 18-ball 20 with Bahrain 58 for three in the 11th over.
Junaid Aziz joined Ali and the pair put on 31 in quick time before Ali’s dismissal for 44 with Bahrain 89 for four in the 16th over triggered a mini-collapse with Aziz and Rizwan Butt also falling in the space of six runs.
Bahrain were now 95 for six after 16 overs and Ahmer bin Nasir and Veerapathiran combined for a quick-fire 28-run partnership before Nasir was run out for 13 off the last ball of the innings with the scoreboard showing what seemed to be a sub-par total of 123 for seven.
In the end, thanks to Rizwan Butt’s brilliant spell and Veerapathiran managing to hold his nerve in a tense final over, it proved to be just enough. But only just.
Bahrain are now fourth in the six-team table with four points from two consecutive wins in their last two matches and two successive defeats in the first two.
Their next – and final – game is against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who lead the table with six points from three consecutive wins – on Friday.
Bahrain will need to win that game and hope that Qatar beat the UAE in their match today to have any chance of making it to Saturday’s final.
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