Malaysia Open T20I Championship 2024 Points Table: Updated standings after Kuwait vs Bahrain, Match 2

Two matches were played at the Malaysia Open T20I Championship on the opening day at the Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, March 5.

Vanuatu defeated Tanzania by nine runs in the first match, while Kuwait lost to Bahrain by 28 runs on the DLS method in a rain-affected match.

With the wins, Bahrain and Vanuatu have grabbed the top two positions in the points table, respectively. Bahrain are at the top with two points in one game and a net run rate of +1.666. Meanwhile, Vanuatu follow them in second place with two points in one match and a net run rate of +0.450.

Malaysia are yet to play a game in the competition and they are now third in the table as the two other teams have their net run rate in the negative territory.

Tanzania are fourth in the points table with one defeat in one game alongside a net run rate of -0.450. Meanwhile, Kuwait are now at the bottom with one defeat in their account and a net run rate of -1.666.

---

Sarfaraz Ali's all-round heroics seal the game for Bahrain

In the first game, Tanzania won the toss and invited Vanuatu to bat first. Their bowlers did a wonderful job of restricting Vanuatu to 128/5 in 20 overs. Andrew Mansale scored an unbeaten 61 runs off 40 deliveries for Vanuatu, while Ally Kimote scalped two wickets for 20 runs in his four overs for Tanzania.

However, Tanzania’s batters failed to respond in the chase as they were bundled out for just 119 in 18 overs to surrender the game by nine runs.

Skipper Joshua Rasu, alongside Tim Cutler, led from the front as the two bowlers bagged two wickets each.

In the second match, Bahrain asked Kuwait to bat first after winning the toss. Despite Meet Bhavsar’s fifty, Kuwait batters failed to perform as they got all-out for 123 in 19.4 overs. Rizwan Butt and Sathaiya Veerapathiran picked up three wickets each for Bahrain, while Sarfaraz Ali bagged two wickets with the ball.

Chasing the target, Bahrain’s opener Sarfaraz Ali smashed 57 runs off 41 deliveries to provide his team with a solid platform. Bahrain were cruising towards the target at 99/2 in 12.4 overs when the game had to be stopped due to rain.

In the end, the game had to be called off due to persistent rain and Bahrain won the game by 28 runs on the DLS method.