Kashif Abdul Razzaq
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia clinched the title in the T20 World Cup Asia B Qualifier at Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur today, securing a remarkable seven-wicket victory against Thailand.
With this triumph, Malaysia secured their spot in the Asia regional finals to be held in Nepal from Oct 30-Nov 9.
During the round robin matches, Malaysia displayed dominance by winning all four encounters. They kicked off the tournament with an eight-wicket triumph against China, followed by convincing victories over Bhutan by 75 runs and Myanmar by 184 runs.
Having won the toss, Malaysia chose to put Thailand to bat first and efficiently restricted them to 93 runs, bowling them out with 10 balls remaining.
In response, Malaysia’s batters swiftly chased down the target, scoring 96 runs while losing only three wickets in 11.4 overs. By the 10th over, the match was virtually in Malaysia’s favor with 85 runs on the board for the loss of two wickets.
Noteworthy performances came from wicketkeeper Syed Aziz Syed Mubarak, who scored an impressive 45 runs in 32 balls, including six fours and one six. Zubaidi Zulkifle contributed 19 runs, while captain Ahmed Faiz scored 10 runs, Virandeep Singh added seven runs, and Vijay Unni secured four runs.
Vijay, aged 19, stood out as the star performer for Malaysia, taking four wickets in four overs.
Amy Mokhsani, the team manager, praised the consistent and impressive performance of the players throughout all four matches, expressing confidence in their future performances in upcoming tournaments. She hopes that the team will maintain their momentum during the Asia finals, aiming for a top-two finish to secure qualification for the T20 World Cup.