Report by Arjun Menon, SCA

Singapore’s mettle was put to the test as they won their third group match versus the Saudis to claim top spot in Group A. Saudi Arabia were skittled for what looked like a paltry score of 118 and as all cricket pundits like to point out, chasing low scores can sometimes be a task in itself and Singapore made hard work of doing so, but came out eventual winners by 5 wickets.

Having won the toss, the Saudi captain Abdullah chose to bat and openers Quddusi and Usman strode out confidently ready to face the opening bowling attack of Shekhar and Sivaram. It only took Singapore 1.4 overs to strike as Usman was soon heading back to the pavilion after falling victim to Sivaram, caught by keeper Franks. Saudi’s number 3 Adnan did not bother the scorers as he was caught magnificently off the inside edge by Singapore’s gloveman again off the bowling of Sivaram.

The Saudi top order failed to consolidate as wickets fell at regular intervals until the pair of Abdullah and Saleem stuck around and had a 34 run partnership until Abdullah succumbed to the ever reliant Rajdeep for 23 and Saleem being removed by skipper Sivaram for 21. Singapore’s bowler’s gained the upper hand and ended the Saudi innings at 118.Sivaram and Rajdeep claiming 4 wickets a piece.

The highlight of the Saudi innings being that of the rotund Meer Fernas, a Saudi native, in only his third game of cricket, pulling Singapore speedster Shekhar for a four which got the Saudi tent excited to say the least and also earning him a warm applause and handshake from the Singapore coach as he strode out of the field on 7 not out.

Singapore having performed magnificently with the bat in their prior matches felt that the score of 118 would not cause any major issues. This assumption was quickly put to the test as opener Seshadri was given out LBW after leaving a ball that cut back in sharply and rapped him on the pads, sparking celebrations on the field from the Saudis headed by the architect of Seshadri’s demise, Abdullah. The in form no 3 for Singapore, Rajgopal, looked in complete control of his innings until he drove a loose shot straight into the hands of cover,again off bowler Abdullah.22-2 and Singapore were now feeling the heat from a very pumped up Saudi team.

Singapore then looked to have slowly gained control of their innings with Shekhar and the cool headed skipper Sivaram at the crease. The Saudis felt that it was time to unleash their star leg spinner Faheem Afrad and he soon struck off his 2nd ball, dismissing Shekhar caught at point for 22. Afrad then bowled the ball that even the likes of Warne would have stood up and applauded. A flighted delivery bowled outside Sivaram’s off stump,tempting him to leave the ball, only to see his off stump clattered by the well disguised googly. A bemused Sivaram made his way back to the Singapore tent at 49-4.

Singapore vice- captain, Mohit Kulkarni was now thrown into the mix and batting with keeper Franks, pinching singles and the occasional boundary, crept closer to the Saudi total as a jittery Singapore camp looked on. The dismissal of Franks at the score of 88 soon had fingernails being chewed but at the end, Ahuja who has had a good tournament so far with bat and ball, partnered the gritty Kulkarni to see Singapore home in the 23rd over. The Saudis however, proud at their efforts in making Singapore sweat for their win. Singapore captain, Sivaram awarded the Man of the Match for his 4-19.

Singapore end up top of Group A and have been matched up against Group B runner up, Hong Kong for their semi-final fixture on the 14th of March while Group B winners Nepal take on Malaysia.

Brief Scores – Singapore beat Saudi Arabia by 5 wickets
Saudi Arabia 118 all out ( Abdullah 23, Saleem 21, Sivaram 4-19)
Singapore 121-5 ( Kulkarni 39 n.o, Shekhar 22, Afrad 2-26)
Scorecard

Tournament Page

Filed March 12th, 2010