Host’s Malaysia finished on top of the points table in the T20I Tri-series involving Maldives and Thailand, as their final match got abandoned due to rain. Malaysia, on virtue of their three wins (twice vs Thailand and one vs Maldives), secured the title with 7 points to their name.
Both Maldives and Thailand notched up their maiden T20I win in the tournament against each other, with Maldives finishing 2nd in the points table after the abandoned match with 3 points. Thailand finished their campaign with 2 points in the Tri-series.
Maldives first T20I win came in a tense manner as they edged past Thailand in the final ball of their first group match with each other, chasing down 130 set by Thailand. They however, could not repeat their performance, as Thailand put on a strong showing in their 2nd group match to register a comfortable 5-wicket win.
Syed Aziz Syed Mubarak (Malaysia) was the highest run-scorer in the tournament with 156 runs from 4 matches, followed by Naveed Pathan (Thailand) with 134 runs, Mohammad Shafiq Sharif (Malaysia) with 127 runs & Nilantha Cooray (Maldives) with 101 runs, respectively.
Anwar Rahman (Malaysia) and Adam Umar (Maldives) were the joint highest wicket-takers with 7, however, Anwar’s scalps came in only 2 matches. Lining up behind them were Nilantha Cooray (Maldives) and Mahsid Faheem (Thailand) with 6 wickets to their names. Syahadat Ramli (Malaysia) and Mohammed Mahfooz (Maldives) picked up 5 wickets each in the tournament.
Malaysia’s preparations for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia regional finals continues, as they host Nepal for a 2-match T20I series at home in Jul 2019.
