Ali Dawood's 4-8 dismantles Bhutan as Bahrain join Kuwait on four points

Bahrain bowled Bhutan out for 73 at Bayuemas Oval to win by 66 runs and move level on points with Kuwait at the top of Asia Qualifier A

Ali Dawood took 4-8 from his four overs as Bahrain beat Bhutan by 66 runs in the fifth match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Sub Regional Asia Qualifier A in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

Bahrain won the toss, chose to bat and posted 139 for 5, with Junaid Aziz making 45 from 35 balls. Bhutan were dismissed for 73 in 18.4 overs, eight balls short of the full twenty.

It was a second win in two days for Bahrain, who had beaten Thailand by seven runs on the opening day, and it took them to four points from two matches alongside Kuwait. Only the top three of the seven teams here go through.

Junaid Aziz sets a modest target

Bahrain's innings never got away from Bhutan. Junaid Aziz made the only score of substance with 45 from 35 deliveries, and Fiaz Ahmed's 25 from 30 was the next best.

Bhutan's bowlers kept the rate honest. Tashi Phuntsho conceded 1-21 from his four overs and Gakul Ghalley took one for 14, and Bahrain finished on 139 for 5 having scored at under seven an over.

On a Bayuemas Oval surface that had already produced a low-scoring Qatar win over Thailand earlier in the day, the total was defensible rather than commanding.

Dawood takes the top order apart

Bhutan's reply never recovered from the opening overs. Imran Khan bowled Sonam Chophel, and Dawood then bowled Tshering Tashi and Ranjung Mikyo Dorji and had Tenjin Rabgey caught and bowled.

None of Bhutan's top four reached double figures. Dawood's four overs cost eight runs and included a maiden, figures of 4-8 that earned him the player-of-the-match award.

Captain Thinley Jamtsho also fell to Dawood, caught by Asif Ali, in a spell that effectively settled the match.

Chejay and Phuntsho offer the resistance

Namgang Chejay provided the one substantial innings of the chase, making 26 from 31 balls with two fours and a six before Asif Ali bowled him. Tashi Phuntsho followed his own tidy spell with 18 from 26, the second-highest score of the innings.

Neither partnership brought the target any closer at the required rate. Asif Ali finished with 3-24 from three overs and Shujaat Rasool took 2-7 from 3.4 overs, Bhutan finding nothing to attack at either end.

Sonam Yeshey struck a four and a six in a cameo of 11 from five balls before Rasool bowled him, and Karma Dorji was left unbeaten on three as the innings closed.

Bahrain and Kuwait set the pace

Two wins from two leaves Bahrain and Kuwait on four points each at the head of the table, with Kuwait ahead on net run rate after their own ten-wicket win over Mongolia on Tuesday. Qatar and Bhutan have two points apiece, and Thailand, Myanmar and Mongolia are yet to win.

Bhutan, who had opened with a 27-run win over Myanmar, carry the weakest net run rate of the four teams on the board at minus 0.975, a figure that matters in a seven-team round robin where three places are on offer.

The road to 2028

The top three from this qualifier and from Qualifier B, which is running alongside it in Kuala Lumpur, advance to the next stage of Asia's qualification pathway in 2027. Malaysian Cricket Association president Mahinda Vallipuram said before the tournament that the country was "honoured to host these important events on the road to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2028".

Both sides are back in action on 8 October, Bahrain against Myanmar and Bhutan against Mongolia, with the group stage running to 14 October.

Scorecard: Bahrain 139 for 5 (Junaid Aziz 45, Fiaz Ahmed 25; Tashi Phuntsho 1-21) beat Bhutan 73 (Namgang Chejay 26, Tashi Phuntsho 18; Ali Dawood 4-8, Asif Ali 3-24) by 66 runs.

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