ILT20 Gulf Cricket Championship 2024: UAE stay unbeaten, Bahrain move to second

UAE Remain Unbeaten in ILT20 Gulf Cricket Championship 2024, Bahrain Rise to Second

The UAE defeated Kuwait by an exciting 11 runs in the last over of the ILT20 Gulf Cricket Championship 2024, preserving their undefeated record. In the meantime, Bahrain defeated Saudi Arabia by a commanding 8 wickets, moving up to second position in the rankings.

With six points, the United Arab Emirates now leads the six-team competition, while Bahrain is in second place with four points. With one victory, Oman, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia each have two points, but Qatar has lost both of its games and is still without a win. The top two teams will go to the championship game.

UAE’s Tanish Suri and Muhammad Waseem were the standout performers, sharing a 104-run opening partnership. However, no other batter could reach double digits. Kuwait’s Sayed Monib Hashimi was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3/33, while Mohamed Shafeeq Manakkadavath and Yasin Patel each took two wickets.

In their chase, Kuwait showed resilience after a difficult start, recovering from 5/2. Meet Bhavsar (21), Muhammad Umar (59 off 44 balls), and Usman Patel (40 off 29 balls) led the charge. B Bilal contributed with a quickfire 16 off 9 balls. Due to their efforts, Kuwait managed to form two solid partnerships for the third and fourth wickets, scoring 56 and 63 runs respectively.

Kuwait needed 16 runs from the last over to lose, nevertheless, despite a heroic comeback. Muhammad Jawadullah of the UAE sealed the victory by taking three vital wickets, including the opening and final two balls of the over.
He and Junaid Siddique each took three wickets in the match.

Earlier, in the day’s first game, Bahrain easily defeated Saudi Arabia. Batting first, Saudi Arabia managed only 113/9, with Waji Ul Hassan top-scoring with 35 runs from 35 balls. Bahrain’s bowlers were exceptional, with Imran Khan (3/20), Muhammed Rizwan Butt (2/23), and Sarfaraz Ali (2/23) leading the charge.

In response, Bahrain’s captain Haider Ali played a match-winning knock of 52* from 34 balls, supported by Asif Ali, who remained unbeaten on 45* from 47 balls. The pair added an unbroken 103-run partnership, guiding Bahrain to victory with 28 balls to spare.