Qatar’s players and team officials pose for a group photo after victory over Singapore yesterday.
Pacer Gayan Munaweera grabbed a five-wicket haul while Iqbal Hussain displayed an all-round show as Qatar overcame Singapore by 19 runs to register their first victory at the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League Group A in Kuala Lumpur, yesterday.
Munaweera conceded only 39 runs while picking five wickets from 9.2 overs as Al Annabi bowled out their opponents for 213 in 48.2 overs, while defending their total of 232 runs. Apart from Munaweera, Iqbal also played an important role, claiming four wickets.
Earlier, opening batsman Zaheer Ibrahim guided Qatar to a challenging total, scoring 63 runs. Khurram Shahzad (44), Rizlan Iqbar (31) and Qalandar Khan (29) were the other notable scorers.
Iqbal made a brisk 23 off 18 balls including a couple of boundaries, and was later named man-of-the-match for his all-round performance.
Qatar will now meet hosts Malaysia in their second match of the event on September 20.
The team, led by Iqbal Chaudhary, will play their next matches against Canada and Denmark on September 22 and 23 respectively.
They will meet Vanuatu in their last match on September 26.
All the matches of the event will be played at Selangor Turf Club and Kinara Oval.
ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League A forms part of the qualification pathway to the 2023 Cricket World Cup, which will be held in India.
The winner of the round robin tournament will be advancing to a play-off event, which will take place in 2022.
