The UAE made short work of Kuwait to wrap up their opening match in the ICC Under 19 World Cup Qualifier Asia Division 2 in a little over 30 overs in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
Ethisham Saddique and Yodhin Punja, the captain, grabbed three wickets each to bundle out Kuwait for 48 in 21.5 overs before knocking off the winning runs in nine overs for the loss of one wicket at the Kelub Aman grounds.
See also:
• Mohammed Ali Mirza, 16, ready to take on older boys in Under 19 World Cup qualifier
• Yodhin Punja recalled as captain to boost 2018 World Cup bid
Kuwait’s total could have been even less had the UAE not conceded 19 extras, the highest contributor after the 12 scored by Abdul Tufail, the only batsman to reach double figures.
The UAE lost opener Aryan Lakra (7) when the score was 11 before Fahad Nawaz (18) and Ali Mirza (18) knocked off the winning runs to finish the game with nearly 70 overs left.
The UAE next meet Hong Kong on Tuesday, an opponent they whitewashed 3-0 in the friendly series in Dubai before heading to Malaysia. Their Group B also includes Thailand and Oman.
The top two teams from the Division 2 will progress to the second round of the qualifier and join Afghanistan and Nepal in Sri Lanka in December. The top two from that will qualify for the U19 Asia Cup, also in Sri Lanka.
Scores in brief:
UAE 49 for 1 in 9 overs bt Kuwait 48 all out in 21.5 overs
(Ethisham Saddique 3-13, Yodhin Punja 3-13, Aryan Lakra 2-7)
Man of the match: Ethisham Saddique
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