Malaysia and Kuwait advance to ICC Men’s T20 WC Asia-East Asia Pacific Regional Final 2025
The final morning of the Men’s T20 World Cup Asia Sub-regional Qualifier A saw host nation Malaysia beat Mongolia by ten wickets to advance to the next round of World Cup qualification. The afternoon winner-takes-all fixture between Hong Kong China and Kuwait was abandoned four overs into Kuwait’s chase of 140, when they were 11 for two with Ravija Sandaruwan and Meet Bhavsar back in the shed.
Singapore ended their tournament on a high, overhauling Myanmar’s 45 with more than 15 overs to spare.
Hong Kong China vs Kuwait
After Hong Kong China was asked to bat first, Mohamed Shafeeq struck in the first over, getting Jamie Atkinson caught behind for 2. Zeeshan Ali struck a pair of sixes before Shafeeq got into the act again, this time holding onto a catch to give skipper Mohammed Aslam a wicket and send the opener packing for 18.
Nizakat Khan departed in the next over, getting cleaned up by Yasin Patel, who ended up with figures of 2 for 28 on the day.
Babar Hayat struck a composed 42 on a surface that was aiding the spinners. Yet wickets continued to tumble for Hong Kong China who were struggling at 97 for six with a mere four overs to go.
To their credit, their tail wagged in style. Anas Khan clubbed two maximums in his 18 before Adil Mehmood chipped in with 14 off four balls to set Kuwait a target of 140.
Yet, this rear guard action would eventually amount to nothing as Kuwait, who dominated the early stages of the tournament booked their berth in the next round of qualification.
Scores:
Hong Kong China 139/8 in 20 Overs (Hayat 42, Shafeeq 3-35, Shiraz Khan 2-19)
Kuwait 11/2 in 4 Overs (Yasim Murtaza 1-4, Ehsan Khan 1-2)
Malaysia vs Mongolia
Malaysian skipper Syed Aziz could not have asked much more of his bowlers after opting to bowl first. Mongolia saw out most of the first three overs before Rizwan Haider bowled Nyambaatar Naranbaatar for a duck. Fellow opener Mohan Vivekanandan top-scored with 8 before he was caught behind to give Virandeep Singh his first wicket in a spell of 4 for five.
Vijay Unni, Amir Azim and Pavandeep Singh picked up a wicket each along with Syed Aziz who had Zoljavkhlan Shurentsetseg caught by Sharvin Muniandy to wrap up the Mongolian innings on 31 in the 17th over.
Yet again, Syed Aziz raced off the blocks in the second innings, smashing 31 in just 11 balls to seal a regulation chase with five balls to spare in the third over.
Brief Scores:
Malaysia 35/0 in 2.1 Overs (Syed Aziz 31*) beat Mongolia 31/10 in 16.1 Overs (Vivekanandan 8, Virandeep Singh 4-5) by 10 Wickets
Player of the Match: Virandeep Singh (Malaysia)
Singapore vs Myanmar
Much like neighbours Malaysia, Singapore made quick work of a simple target. Putting Myanmar into bat, they never allowed their opponents to build a partnership. Harsha Bharadwaj was in the wickets yet again, taking 4 for eight, including the prize scalp of Pyae Phyo Wai for 8. Skipper Htet Lin Aung and Thu Ya Aung chipped in with 11 each, but could not prevent their side from being bowled out for 15 with one ball to spare in the 18th over.
Wait and Htet Lin Aung each took a consolation wicket before Will Simpson and Rahul Sheshadri struck an unbeaten 24 and 15, respectively to seal a regulation chase.
Brief Score:
Singapore 47/2 in 4.4 Overs (Simpson 24*, Sheshadri 15*, Htet Lin AUng 1-17) beat Myanmar (Htet Lin Aung 11, Thu Ya Aung 11, Bharadwaj 4-8) by 8 Wickets
Player of the Match: Harsha Bharadwaj (Singapore)