July 22, 2003	Tuesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 21, 1424

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KARACHI, July 21: Malaysia qualified for the semifinals of the Youth Asia Cup with an impressive 51-run victory over Oman at Quaid-i-Azam Cricket Park on Monday.

The result leaves Oman still in contention, provided they beat fellow contenders Kuwait in Wednesday’s last round of Pool ‘B’ matches.

Oman were set a revised target of 209 in 30 overs after heavy rains during the lunch interval left the playing field inundated. At the end, only two hours of play was possible during which Malaysia reduced their opponents to 157 for nine.

Off-spinner Maxwell Stephen Bala captured three for 16 in six overs while all-rounder Mohammad Anwar bin Arudin took two for 18 with his medium-pacers as Oman lost the first seven wickets for 102.

Earlier, Malaysia cashed in gleefully at Oman skipper Rafeeq Mohammad’s decision to field first to pile up 278 for five in their 50 overs.

Joshua Mahadevan played a solid knock of 82, striking nine fours and one six while facing 125 deliveries. S. Vickneswaran weighed in with 48 off 69 balls during the opening stand of 99 with Mahadevan. He struck six boundaries.

The real star of the day was Anwar bin Arudin with a swashbuckling unbeaten 71. His 51-ball innings contained six fours and a brace of sixes.

In the day’s other game, Hong Kong won the battle of wooden spoons against Thailand by a margin of four wickets at National Stadium.

Hong Kong off-spinner Zain Abbas picked up four for 22 in 8.2 overs as Thailand were all out for 174 in 46.2 overs. Kwan Chand, batting at No 9, top scored with a quick 39 off 33 balls.

Courtney Kruger then hit 45 off 56 balls to ensure Hong Kong end their campaign on a high note despite a a fine spell of four for 34 in 10 overs by Thailand’s Sri Lankan medium-pacer Sahan Ranamukharachchi.

Meanwhile, Qatar will be spending an anxious day on Tuesday, praying for a Nepal victory over Singapore in Pool ‘A’. A win or even a washout at Asghar Shah Stadium will be enough for Singapore to go through to the semifinals with Nepal.

Summarised scores:

*Hong Kong beat Thailand by four wickets at National Stadium:

THAILAND 174 in 46.2 overs (Kwan Chand 39, Darshil Upendra Shah 37, Saurabh Dhanuka 31; Zain Abbas 4-22, Colin Bridges 2-27);

HONG KONG 178-6 in 36 overs (Courtney Kruger 45, Yogesh Mahtani 25 not out, Ansir Mahmood 20; Sahan Ranamukharachchi 4-34).

*Malaysia beat Oman by 51 runs on D/L method at Quaid-i-Azam Cricket Park, Steel Town:

MALAYSIA 278-5 in 50 overs (Joshua Mahadevan 82, Mohammad Anwar bin Arudin 71 not out, S. Vickneswaran 48; Imran Younis 2-34);

OMAN 157-9 in 30 overs (Derrick Ruston 38, Rustam Ali 30, Adnan Ilyas 25; Maxwell Stephen Bala 3-16, Mohammad Anwar 2-18).

Oman’s target was revised

to 209 in 30 overs under the Duckworth/Lewis method after rains curtailed post-lunch session to two hours.

Tuesday’s Pool ‘A’ fixtures: Nepal v Singapore at Asghar Ali Shah Stadium; UAE v Maldives at PCB Regional Academy Ground.

Standings

(Tabulated under played, won, lost, no result, points, bonus points, total points, net run-rate):