Nepal, Bahrain, Kuwait and Singapore progress to the semi-fnals

Hosts Malaysia failed to advance to the semi-finals, losing narrowly by 9 runs to Nepal at Aman Club today. Malaysia won the toss and elected to field first. Nepal found runs hard to get and managed to total 141 for 6 wickets at the end of the allotted 45 overs. Gyanendra Malla batting at number four top scored with 42 runs. Nirmal Simangaida (27 n.o.), Sunam Gautam (19) and Rajan Khadgi (14) were the other batsmen to reach double figures. Malaysia's Mohd Kasman Kaderi had match figures of 3 for 29 while Aminuddin Ramly, Mohd Shahrulnizam and Mohd Elmi Abdul Rahman had a wicket each.

In reply Malaysia lost wickets at regular intervals. Skipper Faris Almas Lee top scored with 24 runs while Mohd Kasman Mohd Kaderi chipped in with 23 runs. Mohd Suhairril Fetri (17), Mohd Shafiq Mohd Sharif (15), Abdul Rashid Ahad (15) and Aminuddin Ramly (11) failed to progress after a good start in their innings. Man of the match Govinda Karki took 4 for 18 while Sushant Thapa had 3 for 18. Nirmal Simangaida and Sunam Gautam had a wicket each.

At the Selangor Turf Club Ground, Singapore thrashed Brunei by 9 wickets in a match that ended well before lunch. Brunei batting first were bundled out for a paltry total of 30 in 17.4 only overs. Only skipper Jvaneel Nayan Parekh reached 9 runs as five batsmen failed to open their account. Singapore's opening bowler Mayank Dalakoti was in devastating form capturing 6 wickets costing 11 runs in 9 consecutive overs while Md.Irfan Madakia took 3 wickets for 3 runs in 3.4 overs. Jayanth G. took the other wicket giving away 8 runs. Mayank Dalakoti was adjudged man of the match.

At the Kinrara Oval, Bahrain upstaged United Arabs Emirates (UAE) by 4 wickets. UAE batting first scored 150 all out in 40.2 overs. Waseem Bari top scored with 42 runs. Pranav Arora (37) and Jai Patel (14) chipped in with useful runs. Bahrain's Sundeep Sen took 3 wickets for 13 runs while David Mathias had 2 for 29. Rohan Kutty, Angad Singh, Salman Sattar and Mohd Danish shared a wicket each.

Bahrain needing 3.3 runs an over, have David Mathias and Mohd Danish to thank for. Both hit half centuries, David (56) and Danish (51) in even time to enable Bahrain to reach the target of 151 runs losing 6 wickets in 43.1 overs. Obaid Hameed had 2 wickets for 25 runs while Ahmed Raza, Taimoor Khalil, Waseem Bari and Jai Patel had a wicket each. Bahrain's David Mathias was namedman of the match for his all round performance.

At the Bayuemas Oval, Kuwait defeated Qatar by 6 wickets. Batting first Qatar scored 124 all out in 39.4 overs. Iqbal Hussain top scored with 25 runs. Ibrahim Zahoor (19), Deon Joynal Britto (16), Nigel Gabriel Fernandes (14), Faraz Ahmad (13) and Muhamad Zuhaib (10 n.o.) featured among the runs. Kuwait's Navtej Singh bowled well takiong 5 wickets costing 21 runs. Sayed Hassan Ali and U.Milinda Dushmantha had 2 wickets a-piece costing 27 and 33 runs respectively. Jasim Shahzad took 1 for 11 in 6 overs.

Kuwait needed 40.4 overs to surpass Qatar's score, totalling 127 for 4 wickets. Ali Raza (33), Ibrahim Saifudin (30 n.o.), Mazen Moez Ali (19 n.o.) and Vicky Suri (11) batted sensibly for Kuwait. Navtej Singh was adjudged man of the match for his bowling feat.

Kuwait is scheduled to meet Nepal at the Selangor Turf Club Ground starting at 10.30 am while Singapore plays Bahrain at the Kinrara Oval starting at 10.00 am in the semi-finals.

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