ISLAMABAD: Palestine stunned Sri Lanka in their West Asia Baseball Cup match here at the Pakistan Sports Complex on Sunday, beating their experienced counterparts 10-0.
On a chilly day in the federal capital, Daylan Renard and Ibrahim Shalabi scored three runs each for the Palestinian outfit while Malik Abdullah and Tariq Suboh added two runs apiece to outclass the Sri Lankans.
The result took Palestine as into the Super Four stage while Sri Lanka also went through along with hosts Pakistan and Bangladesh, who beat Afghanistan 12-2 earlier.
It is Palestine’s maiden appearance at the tournament, yet the side has taken the onlookers by surprise with their unbelievable performances. However, having several players, who play club baseball in the United States, has been helpful for the middle-eastern team.
“Palestine is participating in this cup for the first time, but their performances have surprised all of us,” Pakistan Federation Baseball president Syed Fakhar Ali Shah told Dawn.
“They will try their best to clinch winning trophy and after their today’s victory against defending champion Sri Lanka, it seems, they are hot favourites now.”
For Bangladesh, Imran Khan, Jony, Mosabirul scored two runs each while Redoan Hussain, Abdul Salam, Shahid Ahmed, Ameen Hussain, Mohammad Rippon, Dibaqar added a run apiece. Abdul Ghafoor and Dilawar added one each for Afghanistan.
In another match, India beat Nepal 15-0 as Ankit and Rukaish scored four runs each and Gurjanj scored two runs. Nandan, Narindar, Shihabuddin, Sulkiffal and Lakhan Lal scored one run each.
Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2023
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