Web Posted on Tue. 21st Feb. 2006
In an exiting & tensed match played at KOC Ahmadi ground, Saudi Arabia edged out Kuwait to win by a narrow margin of 2 wickets in the ACC Middle East Cup 2006. In a rain affected match, the match was evenly poised as both the teams fought neck to neck and Fahd Sulaiman playing a memorable innings tilted the scales in favour of Saudi Arabia.
Batting first, Kuwait openers Nadeem Mallik & Mohammed Nawaz launched a blistering attack on the Saudi bowlers sending the ball to the leather hunt. Nadeem’s favorite destination for depositing the ball was to go over the heads of the infield and such was his timing that most of the time the fielders never had a chance to move. Nawaz played cautiously and kept the score board tickling and scored a useful 44 runs with 5 fours. Inform batsman, Qamar Saud was quick to go into the attack and stroked a handsome 42 runs with 4 hits to the fence. Nadeem meanwhile took control and settled to plat some exquisitely timed strokes on both sides of the wicket to remain the top scorer for Kuwait with 79 runs in just 40 ball which included 8 gigantic sixes & 4 fours. Interruption due to rains resulted in the match referee applying the Duckworth Lewis method where Kuwait’s score read as 253 for the loss of 5 wickets in 30 overs. Sarfraz 2/44 & Soharab 2/29 were the most successful bowlers for Saudi Arabia.
In a do or die situation, Saudi openers Fahad Sulaiman & Shahabaz responded aggressively and soon settled to play positive cricket. Shahabaz , a powerful back foot player, cut & drove elegantly and a sweetly timed on drive was a treat to watch. Fahad pulled with vigor and thumped the short pitch deliveries with much ease. Facing all the Kuwait bowlers with brimming confidence, Fahd finished strongly with a match winning innings of 115 runs including 7 towering sixes & 9 well timed shots to the fence. Saudi middle order batsmen then swung the match in their favor to notch up an exiting victory with only one ball to spare. Sarfraz scored a breezy 30 runs & Hayath notched 19 runs. Yaseen Mughal was the highest wicket taker for Kuwait with 3/35, whereas Nadeem Mallik, Mustanser, Asmathulla & Mohammed Ali took a wicket each.
Fahd Sulaiman was rightly declared man of the match for his swash buckling century.