CRICKET – AHMER bin Nasir hammered an unbeaten 85-ball 87 and star medium-pacer Rizwan Butt took four for 37 as Bahrain defeated hosts Malaysia by 18 runs at the Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur yesterday to notch up their second successive Group B win in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off.
Batting first after skipper Sohail Ahmed won the toss, Bahrain had slumped to 54 for four in the 23rd over when Bin Nasir walked in to join Haider Butt, who had scored a match-winning 98 in the opening game against Vanuatu on Thursday.
With Butt carrying on in the same vein as the day before, Bin Nasir unleashed an array of fearsome strokes, smiting five fours and four sixes as the pair added 118 for the fifth wicket in just 21 overs before Butt fell for 53.
Bahrain eventually finished with 209 for seven and reduced Malaysia to 30 for two before Sharvin Muniandy and Ahmed Faiz put on 82 runs for the third wicket in 26 overs.
The stand was finally broken when Haider Butt, bowling tidy off-spin, had Faiz stumped by wicketkeeper Shahbaz Badar for 42, with Malaysia 112 for three before Muniandy was run out for 46 by Ahmed 17 runs later.
Malaysia were now 129 for four in the 38th over, still needing 81 to win but the task proved beyond them with Rizwan Butt, who had earlier accounted for opener Syed Aziz, taking three of the last six wickets to fall.
Bahrain now lead the four-team table with four points and have guaranteed themselves a slot in the Super Sixes stage. Their final group game is against Tanzania, currently second in the table with two points from their 77-run victory over Vanuatu yesterday, on Monday.
Scores: Bahrain 207-9 off 50 overs (Ahmer bin Nasir 87 not out, Haider Butt 53, Khizar Hayat 3/20) bt Malaysia 189 all out off 49.1 overs (Sharvin Muniandy 46, Ahmed Faiz 42, Rizwan Butt 4/37) by 18 runs.
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