RIYADH: Opener Abdul Waheed went through a bittersweet experience as his maiden T20I century proved in vain as Saudi Arabia lost to Bahrain in their first match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier B in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday.

Waheed, who almost single-handedly led Saudi Arabia’s chase of 189 runs, was caught out on the last ball as the Kingdom ended three runs short of Bahrain’s total. Saudi Arabia ended on 185-9 in reply to Bahrain’s 188-5 in 20 overs.

Saudi Arabia needed 11 runs to win off Bahrain player Imran Anwar’s last over, with Waheed off the strike. Usman Najeeb ran a bye to give the talisman his chance. Waheed then ran a couple on the second ball. Anwar then bowled two dots in the next two balls as Waheed felt the pressure.

With eight required off the last two balls, Waheed scored a boundary on the penultimate ball. But his shot on the final ball failed to beat the fielder and Saudi ended up losing the match. Anwar, under pressure, bowled a full toss that Waheed clobbered toward the long-off region but it failed to clear the boundary.

Waheed’s innings ended on 110 runs, which included eight fours and seven sixes. After being dismissed for 99 earlier in February against Cambodia, Waheed finally reached his ton, despite his side failing to register victory.

Saudi had earlier invited Bahrain to bat first at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium. Skipper Haider Ali stood tall for Bahrain as he hammered 67 not out off 51 balls to take the team to 188-5, hitting six fours and two maximums in the process.

Imran Anwar set the tone for the team with 53 off 35 balls, which included two fours and four sixes. Haider and Anwar shared a 95-run partnership for the fourth wicket in just 66 balls. Ishtiaq Ahmad and Usman Najeeb took two wickets each for Saudi Arabia.

Chasing an impressive total, Saudi Arabia kept losing wickets at regular intervals, but Waheed maintained the pace until the end. Vice captain Abdul Manan Ali was the next main contributor with 25 runs off 19 balls.

Manan Ali and Waheed put on 61 runs for the fourth wicket, but Waheed kept running out of partners. Ali Dawood, Imran Khan, and Imran Anwar took two wickets each for Bahrain, with Anwar taking the prized wickets of Manan Ali and Waheed.

Waheed, speaking to Arab News after the match, was disappointed not to have crossed the finish line but was not too downhearted.

He said: “I had the self-belief that if I could take the match to the end, we could win.

“Even though there was no strong support from the other end apart from Manan, I knew the chase was possible. I saw the scoreboard when we needed around 40 runs and knew one big over would bring the match to our side. We got 16 runs from the 18th over, and I completed my century too.

“I know 18 runs in the last two overs were possible, but it’s unfortunate we couldn’t do it. There were some difficult balls to play, but we didn’t execute our plans there.

“The first four balls in the last over were really good. After I hit a four on the fifth ball, there was a belief I could hit the last one too.

“The last ball was the easiest of the match, and I hit it well too. (It was) bad luck — the wind was against the play, and the long-on fielder held on to the catch.”

Waheed believes there were lessons to be learned, not just for him but the whole squad after five new players featured within their ranks.

He added: “I took the match to the end expecting to finish, but the support was not there.

“If I am in a similar situation next time, I will try to finish it two or three balls earlier so there’s less pressure. Other players in the team also understood how important it is to support a set batter in the middle.”

Waheed said he was too focused on the game to celebrate his milestone, adding: “I was just looking at the per-over economy rather than enjoying the century.

“Individual scores don’t mean anything if the team doesn’t win. I would swap it if it meant the team would win. Yes, a little bit of happiness is there for the milestone, but the team losing hurts more.”

Waheed is nevertheless confident that the team are capable of turning the tables in their upcoming matches. Saudi Arabia face the UAE on Wednesday, and he believes it could represent a good chance of victory.

He said: “We have a good batting unit this time, with batters who can come in at eight or nine and hit big. But we lack experience. There are five new players in the team and they learned a good lesson today.

“I have been playing for 12 years and have faced big teams. Those matches have prepared me to face bigger challenges. We have good batters and they just need to express themselves now.

“The UAE is our next opponent. We came up with extra plans this time to not just participate but to win as well. We knew matches would be close and if we win against the UAE it will open doors. We are focused on the tournament.”

In other matches on Tuesday, the UAE defeated Bhutan by 63 runs, while Qatar beat Thailand by five wickets.

Seven nations are taking part in the tournament with hosts Qatar joined by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Bhutan, Cambodia, Thailand, and the UAE. The top two teams from the qualifier will compete in the Asia-East Asia-Pacific regional final, which is a pathway for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to be held in 2026.

Malaysia and Kuwait have already qualified for the regional final from the Asia Group A qualifier, while Samoa and Japan are representing in the East Asia-Pacific A and East Asia-Pacific B qualifiers, respectively.

Nepal, Oman, and Papua New Guinea have also qualified for the regional finals.

HONG KONG: Japan are on the brink of qualifying for the World Cup after a 3-1 win at China on Tuesday, while Son Heung-min scored again as South Korea were held by Palestine.
Headers from Koki Ogawa and Ko Itakura put runaway group leaders Japan two goals up at half-time, before Lin Liangming pulled one back for China early in the second half.
Ogawa snuffed out China’s hopes of a comeback with his second to silence a crowd of 45,000 in Xiamen, where fans without tickets gathered outside the ground to watch the action on their phones.
Loud booing greeted the Japanese national anthem before kick-off and the game was briefly stopped in the first half when a fan invaded the pitch.
“All the players got us this win today,” said Japan coach Hajjime Moriyasu.
“The players on the pitch, the players on the bench and those that weren’t on the bench today — it was down to their energy that we won.”
Japan were playing their first senior international in China in nine years and there is a long history of rivalry between the two countries.
There was a heavy police presence outside the Xiamen Egret Stadium, where about 750 Japan fans were expected to be in attendance.
The convincing victory gave Japan five wins and a draw in Asian qualifying Group C and took them to within touching distance of a place at the World Cup.
However, the rest of the group is incredibly tightly packed, with one point separating Australia in second to China in sixth.
Australia secured a last-gasp 2-2 draw against Bahrain in Riffa, with the Socceroos scoring inside the first minute through Kusini Yengi only for substitute Mahdi Abduljabbar to score twice in three second-half minutes for the hosts.
However, Yengi equalized in the sixth minute of injury-time to grab what could prove a precious point for Tony Popovic’s team.
The draw means Australia have the edge in second on seven points, nine back from Japan but one ahead of Indonesia, Saudi, Bahrain and China.
The top two teams in each of the three groups will reach the showpiece in the United States, Canada and Mexico, while those who finish third and fourth go through to a further round of qualifying.
In Group B, Palestine — nominally hosts for a game taking place in Jordan — grabbed a surprise 12th-minute lead over South Korea thanks to Zaid Qunbar.
The advantage lasted just four minutes, talisman and skipper Son firing in from close range to bring the Koreans level with his 51st goal for his country. Son had a goal chalked off for offside late on.
Despite the 1-1 stalemate, the Koreans are firmly on course for the World Cup at the top of the group, holding a three-point lead with four games to go.
Iraq occupy second on 11 points following a 1-0 victory against Oman in Muscat, while Jordan’s 1-1 draw at Kuwait leaves them two points back, in third. Oman sit fourth, on six points, with Kuwait on four and Palestine on three.
In Group A, talented 21-year-old Abbosbek Fayzullaev scored the only goal to give Uzbekistan a 1-0 win over North Korea in Vientiane, the capital of Laos.
It cemented the Uzbeks’ place in the top two in the group, along with table-toppers Iran, who were 3-2 winners at Kyrgyzstan.
Third-placed UAE kept on Uzbekistan’s coattails with a 5-0 victory against back-to-back Asian champions Qatar in Abu Dhabi, with Fabio De Lima netting four goals.
The win ensures Paulo Bento’s side remain three points from second, while Qatar stay fourth, six points off the automatic qualification spots.
North Korea are bottom and yet to win in six games in this phase of qualifying.