Bahrain were bowled out for 87 on Monday, and on Wednesday they beat Hong Kong
Ali Dawood’s 4 for 21 left Group A of the ACC Men’s Premier Cup in a four-way tie. In Bangi, Oman chased 273 with 57 balls to spare and are the only side on four points.
Sep 2, 2026
On Monday, Bahrain were bowled out for 87 and Nepal knocked the runs off with 174 balls to spare. On Wednesday, the same Bahrain side made 210 and beat Hong Kong by 32 runs. Two days apart, at the same tournament, and the second one has blown Group A of the ACC Men’s Premier Cup wide open.
Ali Dawood bowled ten overs for 21
Bahrain batted first at Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur and were 73 for 4 in the 25th over, which looked like Monday all over again. Junaid Aziz and Ahmer Bin Nasir then put on 77. Aziz made 47 off 60, Bin Nasir 46 off 70, and neither of them did anything flashy. Bahrain finished on 210 for 8.
Hong Kong were 27 for 4 inside 13 overs. Ali Dawood took the first wicket to fall, Kalhan Challu caught by Fiaz Ahmed in the opening over, and came back for three more; his figures read 10 overs, four maidens, 21 runs, four wickets, and he was named Player of the Match.
Kinchit Shah and Shahid Wasif dragged Hong Kong from 70 for 5 to 154, Wasif making 53 off 64 and Shah 52 off 87. Then Wasif went at 154, Shah at 160, Ehsan Khan two balls later, and the innings ended on 178 with two balls of the 50 unbowled. Muhammad Salman, playing his first List A match, took two.
Group A is now a four-way tie
Malaysia, Hong Kong, Nepal and Bahrain all have two points. Saudi Arabia have none and have played twice. Nepal and Malaysia have a game in hand on the other two, so the table flatters nobody, but a side that was 87 all out on Monday is level with the team that bowled them out.
The reason any of this matters beyond the ten countries involved: the Premier Cup is the qualifying route to the 2027 Men’s Asia Cup. Ten teams, two groups of five, top two from each group into the semi-finals, and the tournament runs in Malaysia until 12 September.
Oman are the only team on four points
Over at the YSD-UKM Oval in Bangi, Oman chased 273 against Qatar with 57 balls to spare. That is a serious chase in a 50-over game and Karan Sonavale is most of the reason it happened: 83 off 55 balls with seven sixes, in a third-wicket stand of 112 with Hammad Mirza that took Oman from 54 for 2 to 166.
Mirza finished on 84 not out off 96 and got Player of the Match for holding the innings together while everyone around him went at it. Vinayak Shukla, Oman’s captain and wicketkeeper, was 46 not out at the end. They won by five wickets with more than nine overs unused.
Qatar had made 272, which on most days at this level is enough. Zubair Ali batted through the middle for 77 off 101, and Mirza Mohammed Baig hit 59 off 38 at the death. Hassnain Shah took 4 for 58 for Oman.
Qatar have now lost both their matches, as have Singapore. Oman have won both, and are the only side in either group on four points. Nobody in Group A has that luxury, which is why Bahrain’s Wednesday matters more than the margin suggests.