July 24, 2003	Thursday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 23, 1424

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KARACHI, July 23: Kuwait clinched the remaining semifinal spot in the Under-19 Youth Asia Cup with a four-wicket victory over Oman at Quaid-i-Azam Cricket Park on Wednesday.

In a low-scoring Pool ‘B’ tie, Kuwait lost six wickets in reaching a target of 86 in 19.5 overs.

Oman, needing a victory themselves to qualify, were never in the hunt after being bowled out for a paltry 85 in 35.3 overs on a lively pitch after asked to bat first by Kuwait skipper Adeel Mirza.

Except for Imran Younis (20) and wicket-keeper Pranay Mehta (21) no other Omani batsman managed to reach double figures. The bulk of Oman’s small total was provided by Mr Extras with 27 of the 31 runs coming off wides.

Medium-pacers Waqas Jamil and Abdullah Iftikhar ripped through the top order to share six wickets between, giving away 17 and 13 runs respectively.

Slow left-armer Ali Shahzad also bagged three wickets while conceding 21 runs in nine overs.

Kuwait then nearly made a hash of their runs chase after an opening partnership of 33 between Saim Shibli and Arnay Dutta, losing six wickets for 45.

Shibli was in belligerent mood, smashing seven boundaries on his way to 31 off just 17 deliveries. Dutta scored only three.

Medium-pacer Adnan Ilyas and Imran Younis, who bowls off-spin, claimed two wickets each.

Malaysia, as widely expected, overwhelmed the lowly-rated Thailand by eight wickets at National Stadium to top Pool ‘B’.

Thailand mustered 108 all out in 48.5 overs, having opted to bat first at the toss. Opener Darshil Upendra Shah (27) and Deepak Saraff (23) were the main scorers while the extras yielded 32 runs, including 28 wides.

Off-spinner Mohammad Shukri bin Abdul Rahim bowled a tidy 10-over spell to capture two for 16. Medium-pacer Radzman Zabri was even more impressive in taking two for six in 5.1 overs. Three of the batsmen were run out.

Malaysia required a mere 16.2 overs to overhaul Thailand’s total, making 109 for two. Opener Sahan Kumara batted briskly to hit 35 off 38 deliveries. His knock was spiced with five fours. Sathiswaran struck an unbeaten 33 off 30 balls with the aid of four hits to the ropes.

In Friday’s semifinals, Kuwait meet Pool ‘A’ winners Nepal at National Stadium while Malaysia face Qatar, the Pool ‘A’ runners-up, at Quaid-i-Azam Cricket Park.

The victors of these two ties will then vie for one Youth World Cup place in Sunday’s final at National Stadium.

Summarised scores:

*Malaysia beat Thailand by eight wickets at National Stadium:

THAILAND 108 in 48.5 overs (Darshil Upendra Shah 27, Deepak Saraff 23; Radzman Zabri 2-6, Mohammad Shukri bin Abdul Rahim 2-16);

MALAYSIA 109 in 16.2 overs (Sahan Kumara 35, Sathiswaran 33 not out).

*Kuwait beat Oman by four wickets at Quaid-i-Azam Cricket Park (Steel Town):

OMAN 85 in 35.3 overs (Pranay Mehta 21, Imran Younis 20; Abdullah Iftikhar 3-13, Waqas Jamil 3-17, Ali Shahzad 3-21);

KUWAIT 86-6 in 19.5 overs (Saim Shibli 31; Imran Younis 2-17, Adnan Ilyas 2-26).