Malaysia Open T20I Championship 2024 Points Table: Updated standings after Bahrain vs Tanzania, Match 8

The T20 action continued in Kuala Lumpur as two more matches were played in the Malaysia Open T20I Championship at the Bayuemas Oval on Saturday, March 9.

Hosts Malaysia defeated Kuwait by seven wickets in the first game, which was followed by Bahrain’s 52-run win over Tanzania.

Bahrain have now registered three consecutive wins in the competition to assert themselves at the top of the points table. They now have six points in three matches with a net run rate of +1.723.

Meanwhile, Malaysia have jumped to second place with four points in three matches. They have two wins and one defeat in their account alongside a net run rate of +1.257.

At the same time, Kuwait have now slipped to the third place with four points in four matches. Kuwait have registered two wins and two defeats so far along with a net run rate of +0.124.

Vanuatu didn’t play a game on Saturday and they are still sitting fourth in the points table. On the other hand, Tanzania are still at the bottom of the points table. They are yet to open their account after suffering three defeats in three matches.

---

Bahrain complete hat-trick of wins courtesy of Rizwan Butt’s five-fer

In the first match of the day, Malaysia won the toss and invited Kuwait to bat first. Their bowlers responded in style as they bundled out Kuwait for a total of 87 in 18.4 overs. Only Yasin Patel put up a fight with 31 runs for Kuwait, while Virandeep Singh and Pavandeep Singh bagged three wickets each for the hosts.

Chasing the total, Malaysia did lose their openers early but an unbeaten knock of 59 runs from Syed Aziz took them safely to the target in 13.4 overs and seven wickets in hand.

In the second match, Tanzania won the toss and decided to bowl first. It was a collective effort from Bahrain as they managed to post a total of 135/8 in 20 overs. Sohail Ahmed top-scored for them with 35 runs off 33 deliveries, while Yalinde Nkanya picked up three wickets for Tanzania.

Defending the target, Rizwan Butt bowled a brilliant spell and bagged five wickets to dismantle Tanzania’s batting. Tanzania got dismissed for 83 runs in 20 overs to lose the game by 52 runs.