Leading from the front, Qatar captain Inam-ul-Haq helped Qatar register their first victory in ICC World T20 Asia Qualifier ‘A’ in Kuwait City yesterday.
Playing against a strong Kuwait team, coached by former South Africa international Herschelle Gibbs, the skipper scored a 25-ball 24 as Qatar put up 167 runs on board for the loss of six wickets, before scalping four crucial wickets to help limit the hosts to 141 runs for 9 in the allotted 20 overs.
Qatar, who had pushed the UAE in the first match on Friday, showed character fighting back to level the win-loss record in the tournament with yesterday’s victory.
After choosing to bat first, Qatar’s Faisal Javid Khan did the bulk of the scoring in the opening wicket partnership of 52, smashing a 23-ball 48 (6 fours, 3 sixes) before falling in the fifth over.
Kamran Khan fell one run short of a half century but not before he had sent the ball into the stands five times, besides hitting a boundary, in his 28-ball knock.
Both Faisal and Kamran were involved in two half-century stands which provided solidity to the Qatar’s total.
Mohamed Tanveer (17) and Nouman Sarwar (10) were the other Qatar batsmen to get into double figures.
Imran Ali (3 for 18) and Sajid Manzil (2 for 21) were the pick of the bowlers from the Kuwaiti side.
In reply, while Kuwait opener Mohamed Kashif fell with only 12 on the board, Usman Waheed put up a 72-run stand with Abid Mushtaq, before Haq had Waheed caught behind by Awais Malik for 66.
Kuwait lost five wickets for just nine runs, reeling at 93 for 6 in the 14th over, with four of those wickets by Haq.
Qatar then fully controlled the match and restricted them at 141 for nine. Besides Haq’s four-wicket haul, Iqbal Hussain grabbed two for 23 to put pressure on Kuwait.
“It was a vital match and very important win for us today. Both the UAE and Kuwait are the strongest teams in the group and we have played them with 1-1 result,” Qatar team manager Gul Khan Jadoun said.
“All the players put in their 100 percent and we managed to beat Kuwait convincingly. I want to congratulate the team for their fine effort. Also I wish to congratulate Qatar Cricket Association president Yousef Jeham al-Kuwari for his support to the team.
“We still have three more matches to play in the group league. We’ll stay focused on the target and try our best in the tournament,” Jadoun added.

BRIEF SCORES: Qatar 167 for 6 in 20 overs (Kamran Khan 49, Faisal Javid Khan 48; Imran Ali 3-18, Sajid Manzil 2-21) beat Kuwait 141 for 9 in 20 overs (Usman Waheed 66; Inam-ul-Haq 4-22, Iqbal Hussain 2-23) by 26 runs. Man of the Match: Inam-ul-Haq (Qatar, 24 runs and 4 wickets for 22)
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