Mohamed Rizlan played the sheet-anchor’s role to perfection as he steered Qatar to a tense three-wicket win over Malaysia in the Cricket World Cup Challenge League in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Batting at number 5, Rizlan cut out all risk from his batting at the Selangor Turf Club to score an unbeaten 44 off 98 balls to take Qatar past the Malaysian total of 153 with 14 balls to spare.
Qatar were in a precarious position, having lost five wickets for 33 runs, before Rizlan dug in and began the rescue act with the help of the lower order.
Captain Iqbal Hussain chipped in with 11, valuable under the circumstances, but a 48-run partnership with Gayan Munaweera (28: 40b, 4x2, 6x2) infused some energy into the Qatar cause.
The arrival of Dharmang Patel saw Qatar batting with more urgency as the right-hander started picking the gaps and punishing the bad balls.
Patel hit five fours in an unbeaten 37 which came off just 48 balls as he and Rizlan took Qatar home for their second straight victory, having beaten Singapore in the first match.
Rizlan was adjudged the man of the match for his 44, in which he hit only one six.
For Malaysia, Pavandeep Singh and Anwar Rahman claimed two wickets each.
Earlier, Musavar Shah, Khurram Shahzad and Iqbal Hussain claimed two wickets each as Qatar restricted Malaysia to 153 for 7 in 50 overs.
Like Qatar, Malaysia too made a poor start, losing half their side for just 53 runs before Suharril Fetri and Nazril Rahman came to their rescue.
Fetri scored 24 in 86 balls, while Rahman hammed a quickfire 52 off 57 balls with the help of three fours and two sixes.
Qatar will take on Canada in their third match today.
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