Dubai: The UAE Under-19 team produced a splendid all-round performance to trounce Kuwait by 194 runs (Duckworth Lewis Method) in the final and emerge as the champions of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Under-19 Western Region tournament in Malaysia.
UAE’s batsmen posted a whopping 275 for 7 in a rain affected final with their skipper Fahad Nawaz leading the way by top-scoring through a breezy 69 runs off 78 balls studded with eight boundaries. He was well supported by his opening partner Aryan Lakra, who hit 51 off 77 balls with three boundaries. Together they put on 113 runs during the opening wicket partnership in 23.4 overs.
Krishna Lakhani swelled the total through 55 runs off 47 balls with Hrithik Bhatia chipping in with 48 runs off 37 balls.
Chasing the total, Kuwait were bowled out for 80 runs off 33.1 overs. UAE’s left-arm spinner Rahul Bhatia carried his form into the final by taking three wickets for 19 runs backed by his skipper Fahad, who also took three wickets for 14 runs and Mohammad Ali took three wickets for 19 runs.
Rahul won the best bowler award for his 18-wicket haul from four matches which included 6 for 25 against Bahrain, 5 for 4 against Oman and 4 for 29 against Qatar in the semi final.
Speaking to Gulf News from Malaysia after receiving the best bowler award, Rahul said: “I dedicate this award to my parents and my sister who supported me during low phases and had trust in my talent and encouraged me to give my best.”
The UAE, by emerging champions, became the only team to be qualify for the ACC Under-19 Youth Asia Cup to be contested by Test-playing nations from November 10. They are in Group B alongside Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The UAE play their first match against Sri Lanka on November 10, followed by a clash against Pakistan on November 12 and Afghanistan on November 14.
Kuwait found the UAE bowlers too tough to handle. The bowlers were accurate and consistent throughout the tournament. Mohammad Ali clean-bowled their opener Gokul Sunil Kumar for 2, while the other opener Ahmad Khalid was caught by Rahul off Fahad for 8. Fahad then removed the next two batsmen in a flash. Ali also picked the wicket of their skipper Nomaan Sidiq for 5. Rahul then struck repeatedly to hasten the end of the Kuwait innings. Last man Akhil Sanjeev Nair got bowled by Lakhani for 14.
