Asia Cup Qualifiers 2022, Match 5: Kuwait thump Singapore by 6 wickets

Kuwait beat Singapore by six wickets in the fifth match of the Asia Cup Qualifiers 2022 in Al Amerat on Wednesday (August 24). The win was Kuwait’s second in three matches, while Singapore ended the tournament with three losses in as many games.

Singapore won the toss and opted to bat first. However, their batting faltered as they were bundled out for 104 in 19.5 overs. Not a single Singapore batter managed to get into the 30s.

Janak Prakash top-scored with 29 off 33, while opener Aritra Dutta contributed 21 off 17. The rest of the batting crumbled as Yasin Patel claimed four for 22 and Shiraz Khan three for 18. Sayed Monib also did well, claiming two for 25.

Singapore got off to a poor start with the bat, losing Surendran Chandramohan to Patel for four. Dutta and Rezza Gaznavi (four) also fell to Patel in his next over. Dutta was caught and Gaznavi stumped as the batting side slid to 31 for three in six overs.

Avi Dixit became Patel’s fourth scalp, caught behind for four. Singapore had lost half their side for 57 when Shiraz trapped Aman Desai lbw for 13. The leg-spinner also got the better of Aryaman Sunil for 12. Shiraz claimed his third when he had Vinoth Baskaran caught and bowled for two.

Prakash’s 29 ensured Singapore got closer to the 100-run mark. But Monib dismissed Prakash and Singapore captain Amjad Mahboob (five) off consecutive deliveries in the penultimate over.

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Kuwait romp home in chase of 105

Chasing a target of 105, Kuwait raced home in 7.5 overs, losing six wickets. Ravija Sandaruwan (28 off 14) and Bilal Tahir (21* off 12) played impressive cameos. Baskaran claimed three wickets to reduce Kuwait to 60 for four, dismissing Meet Bhavsar (17), Edson Silva (six) and Usman Patel (0).

The updated list of most runs scorer in Asia Cup can be viewed here.

Monib, however, clobbered three fours and as many sixes in his unbeaten 32 off 10. In the seventh over bowled by Akshay Puri, he slammed two maximums and three fours. A six and a single off Baskaran in the next over brought an early finish to the game.