Gulf T20I Championship Tournament: Bahrain beat UAE by 3 runs

Bahrain beat UAE by 3 runs defending 150 runs in another thriller of a contest in the Gulf Cup T20I Cricket Championship.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat, Bahrain was off to a brisk start, scoring 40 runs in the powerplay and losing 2 wkts.

Opener and Skipper Umer made 19 in 14 balls 4×4’s, Imran Javed at no.3 hit a quick 26 of 22 balls with 2×6`s. Haider Ali 34 ( 36 balls 2×4`s, 1×6) and Junaid Aziz 31 not out ( 27balls, 2×4`s) held the middle order by stitching a 62-run partnership that enabled Bahrain to post a competitive 150 runs in the stipulated 20 overs.

Defending 150 runs, Ali Dawood yet again gave the initial breakthrough by cleaning up Aryansh in the 5th ball of the first over. UAE Skipper Mohammed Waseem and Vriitya Aravind added 42 runs in quick time for the second wicket partnership.

Bahrain bowlers kept the pressure consistently and picked up wickets regularly to keep the UAE batter under check. Leading up to the last over UAE required 11 runs with 3 wickets in hand.

Star pacer Rizwan conceded only 6 runs in the first 5 deliveries with a clever change of pace and in the last delivery, Akif Raja could manage only a single, giving Bahrain a memorable 3-run win.

Ali Dawood and Imran Javed picked up 2 wickets each while Abdul Majid, Sathyaiah and Zaki picked up one apiece. Haider Ali was declared the player of the match.