Saudi Arabia Beat Malaysia by 3 Wickets — Abdul Waheed Stays Till the End

Some chases are won by a flurry. This one was won by a man who simply refused to leave. Abdul Waheed walked out to open Saudi Arabia's reply to 137, watched seven partners come and go around him, and was still there, 67 not out, when the winning runs came with five balls left.

Malaysia will feel this one. Virandeep Singh made 61 not out and then took 3 for 15, and for a while in the middle of the chase the hosts were on top. Saudi Arabia won by 3 wickets, with 5 balls remaining.

Saudi Arabia's bowlers did their work early. Ishtiaq Ahmad removed Syed Aziz in the third over and Usman Khalid bowled Nazmus Sakib an over later, and Malaysia were 15 for 2. From there the Saudi attack couldn't find a third wicket, but they did keep the scoring in check: Ishtiaq's four overs cost 18 and Usman Najeeb's 21, and Malaysia finished at under seven an over.

The chase was messier. Faisal Khan fell to the fifth ball, and when Virandeep struck twice in two balls in the tenth over, Saudi Arabia were 77 for 5 and needed 61 more. Zain Ul Abidin's 9 from 18 balls was slow, but he stayed with Waheed for 29 runs. Usman Khalid then hit 14 from 10, and by the time he was bowled at 132 for 7 the target was six away. Waheed and Usman Najeeb finished it in the 20th over. Two games, two wins for Saudi Arabia.

There is a lot for Malaysia to take from this. Virandeep Singh and Muhamad Syahadat came together at 15 for 2 and batted through the last 100 balls of the innings without being separated. Virandeep then bowled four overs for 15 and took three wickets, two of them in consecutive balls. Pavandeep Singh's four overs cost 20. For long stretches, the hosts were the better side.

The difference was perhaps 20 runs. With eight wickets in hand at the end, Malaysia's innings had room for more risk in the last few overs, and a target closer to 160 would have asked harder questions of Saudi Arabia's middle order. Two matches, two narrow defeats — by 7 runs on DLS to Hong Kong, and now by three wickets with five balls left. Sides that keep losing close games are usually not far from winning them.

Malaysia chose to bat at Bayuemas Oval. Neither side found it easy to score quickly: Malaysia lost only two wickets but made 137, and Saudi Arabia's chase, Waheed apart, was a series of short innings. The tightest spells of the day — Virandeep's 4-0-15-3, Ishtiaq's 4-0-18-1 and Pavandeep's 4-0-20-0 — suggest bowlers who kept it straight were hard to get away. Batters who settled in, as Waheed, Virandeep and Syahadat did, found the runs came later.

Waheed was Player of the Match against Singapore for 54 off 32, and he followed it with something quite different. That was an innings of acceleration; this was one of patience. He opened, saw Saudi Arabia slide from 64 for 2 to 77 for 5, and kept going. His 67 not out came from 44 balls with five fours and three sixes, and he was there at the end with the bat in his hand, which is where every chasing captain wants his best batter to be.

This match didn't have a CricIntel preview, so there is no prediction to review.

After two rounds of Qualifier B, Hong Kong (net run rate +5.047) and Saudi Arabia (+2.091) are unbeaten on four points each. Maldives (+1.353) and Singapore (-1.050) have two points, and Malaysia (-0.508) and China (-6.793) are yet to score.

The two unbeaten sides meet next: Saudi Arabia play Hong Kong at Bayuemas Oval on October 11. Malaysia face Maldives the same day at the YSD-UKM Cricket Oval in Bangi.