Unbeaten Kuwait and Bahrain meet on Friday with top spot in Asia Qualifier A at stake

Kuwait and Bahrain both made it three wins from three on Thursday and now meet at the YSD-UKM Cricket Oval with top spot in Sub Regional Asia Qualifier A on the line

Kuwait bowled Thailand out for 60 at the Bayuemas Oval and knocked off the runs in seven overs. Bahrain held Myanmar to 70 for 9 at the Selangor Turf Club and won with 52 balls to spare.

The two are the only unbeaten sides left in the seven-team group, and they face each other in the 11th match of the qualifier on Friday.

Both carry six points. Kuwait lead on net run rate, and the winner will go top with two further matches each to follow in the single round-robin.

Kuwait finish inside seven overs

Kuwait put Thailand in at the Bayuemas Oval and bowled them out for 60 in 18.3 overs. Mohammed Aslam took 3-9, and Adnan Idrees, Meet Bhavsar and Yasin Patel claimed two wickets apiece.

Akshay Yadav made 26 from 31 balls and was the only Thailand batter to pass 10.

Ravija Sandaruwan then hit 53 not out from 19 balls, with three fours and six sixes, and Kuwait were home at 61 for 1 in seven overs. The nine-wicket win came with 78 balls remaining, and Sandaruwan was named player of the match.

Kuwait opened with 199 for 7 against Qatar and won by 58 runs, then bowled Mongolia out for 42 and knocked off the runs in 3.3 overs. They have conceded more than 100 once in the group, when Qatar replied with 141 for 8.

Bahrain squeeze Myanmar at the Selangor Turf Club

Bahrain also bowled first and restricted Myanmar to 70 for 9 from their 20 overs, one of three sub-75 totals on a one-sided day in the group.

Shujaat Rasool made 22 from 13 balls and Prashant Kurup 21 from 19 to take the chase to 49 for 2 inside six overs. Ahmer Bin Nasir and Junaid Aziz saw Bahrain to 73 for 2 in 11.2 overs.

Abdul Majid, who did not bat, was named player of the match for his work with the ball.

Bahrain’s three wins have had a different character to Kuwait’s. They edged Thailand by seven runs in the opening round, 104 for 6 against 97 for 8, then made 139 for 5 and bowled Bhutan out for 73 to win by 66.

Net run rate the only thing between them

Kuwait and Bahrain are both on six points from three matches. Kuwait’s net run rate of 5.884 is comfortably the best in the group; Bahrain’s stands at 2.156.

Bhutan are third on four points after beating Mongolia by 136 runs on Thursday, with Qatar fourth on two. Myanmar, Thailand and Mongolia are still without a point.

Bhutan posted 203 for 5 in that match, built around Tenjin Rabgey’s century, and bowled Mongolia out for 67 in 15 overs.

Thailand are the one opponent both leaders have already beaten, Bahrain in the opening round on 5 October and Kuwait on Thursday.

Three places on offer in Kuala Lumpur

The ICC has said that the top three teams from each of the two sub-regional qualifiers progress to the next stage of the Asia qualification pathway in 2027, so Friday settles the order rather than survival.

"We are honoured to host these important events on the road to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2028," said Mahinda Vallipuram, president of the Malaysian Cricket Association.

Qualifier A runs to 14 October across the Bayuemas Oval, the YSD-UKM Cricket Oval and the Selangor Turf Club, with Qualifier B played alongside it.

What Friday brings

Mongolia play Thailand at the Bayuemas Oval and Qatar face Myanmar at the Selangor Turf Club in the other two matches of the round, all three starting together.

Kuwait have beaten Mongolia, Qatar and Thailand so far; Bahrain have accounted for Thailand, Bhutan and Myanmar. Both chose to field on Thursday, and Friday’s meeting is the fourth match of the group at the YSD-UKM Cricket Oval.

Bahrain and Kuwait start at 01:15 GMT, 6:45am IST, at the YSD-UKM Cricket Oval, with the group’s last two unbeaten records on the line.

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