2020 Asia Cup Qualifier
The 2020 Asia Cup Qualifier was the tournament played as part of qualification process for the 2020 Asia Cup. The 2020 editions of the ACC Western and Eastern Region T20 tournaments were held in February and March 2020 by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), with thirteen teams competing in total (eight in the Western event and five in the Eastern event). These were scheduled to be followed by the Asia Cup Qualifier tournament in Malaysia, which was due to be played in August 2020.[1] All matches in the qualifiers have Twenty20 International (T20I) status.[2] However, in July 2020, the 2020 Asia Cup was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[3] resulting in the postponement of the 2020 Asia Cup Qualifier.[4]
The Western Region qualifier was held by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Oman in February 2020 and the Eastern region qualifier was held in Thailand from 29 February to 6 March 2020. UAE and Kuwait advanced to the main Asia Cup Qualifier after reaching the final of the Western Region event[5] and they were joined by Singapore and Hong Kong who finished in the top two positions in the Eastern event.[6] These four teams will contest the Asia Cup Qualifier in Malaysia to determine the sixth team to take part in the 2020 Asia Cup (joining the five Asian Full Members of the International Cricket Council).
China were originally scheduled to take part in the Eastern Region Group, but they withdrew in February 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] Bhutan and Myanmar, who were also included in the original schedule, later withdrew their participation.[8][9] On 23 February 2020, Iran played their first ever T20I match, when they faced the United Arab Emirates in Group B of the Western Region qualifier.[10]
Teams
| Eastern Region Group | Western Region Group |
|---|---|
2020 ACC Western Region T20
| Dates | 23 – 27 February 2020 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | Asian Cricket Council |
| Cricket format | T20I |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and playoffs |
| Host(s) |  Oman |
| Champions |  United Arab Emirates |
| Runners-up |  Kuwait |
| Participants | 8 |
| Matches played | 15 |
| Most runs | Chirag Suri (239) |
| Most wickets | Mohammed Aslam (12) |
The 2020 ACC Western Region T20 tournament was held from 23 to 27 February 2020 in Muscat, Oman,[11][12] and acted as a first qualifying stage for the 2020 Asia Cup.[11][13][14] Bahrain,[15] Kuwait,[16] Maldives,[17] Oman,[11][18] Saudi Arabia[19] and the UAE[20] all announced their squads for the tournament. Following the conclusion of the group stage matches of the Western Region, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE had all progressed to the semi-finals.[21]
An incredible six-wicket win for Bahrain over Qatar in the final group match saw them climb to the top of Group A, with both sides progressing to the semi-finals at the expense of highly rated Oman by virtue of slightly better net run rates.[22] Kuwait and the UAE won their respective semi-final matches to advance to the final of the Western Region group and to the Asia Cup Qualifier.[5] United Arab Emirates went on to win the final by 102 runs.[23]
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Bahrain |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1.461 |
| 2 |  Qatar |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1.391 |
| 3 | Oman |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1.040 |
| 4 |  Maldives |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3.793 |
Advance to semi-finals
v |
||
Kamran Khan 88 (53) Ihala Kumara 2/32 (3 overs) |
- Qatar won the toss and elected to bat.
- Ihala Kumara (Mdv) made his T20I debut.
v |
||
Shahbaz Badar 24 (27) Khawar Ali 4/16 (4 overs) |
- Bahrain won the toss and elected to bat.
- Mohammad Sanuth (Oma), Junaid Aziz, Imran Butt, Abdul Majid and Sathaiya Veerapathiran (Bhr) all made their T20I debuts.
v |
||
- Qatar won the toss and elected to bat.
v |
||
Sarfaraz Ali 50 (22) Nilantha Cooray 2/21 (4 overs) |
Nilantha Cooray 40 (41) Imran Anwar 2/16 (4 overs) |
- Bahrain won the toss and elected to bat.
- Muhammad Younis (Bhr) made his T20I debut.
v |
||
Mohamed Rishwan 61 (42) Bilal Khan 2/16 (4 overs) |
Khawar Ali 72* (45) |
- Oman won the toss and elected to field.
- Ahmed Raid (Mdv) made his T20I debut.
v |
||
Kamran Khan 46 (43) Abdul Majid 4/23 (4 overs) |
Sarfaraz Ali 43 (27) Mohammed Nadeem 1/17 (2 overs) |
- Qatar won the toss and elected to bat.
- Mohammed Sameer (Bhr) made his T20I debut.
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Arab Emirates |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3.114 |
| 2 | Kuwait |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1.539 |
| 3 |  Saudi Arabia |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.489 |
| 4 |  Iran |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −6.221 |
Advance to semi-finals
v |
||
Yousef Shadzehisarjou 14 (21) Rohan Mustafa 2/6 (4 overs) |
Rohan Mustafa 41* (18) |
- United Arab Emirates won the toss and elected to field.
- Navid Abdollahpour, Navid Balouch, Naiem Bameri, Dad Dahani, Hamid Hashemi, Masood Jayezeh, Arshad Mazarzei, Ali Mohammadipour, Yousef Shadzehisarjou, Emran Shahbakhsh, Nader Zahadiafzal (Irn), Vriitya Aravind, Basil Hameed and Alishan Sharafu (UAE) all made their T20I debuts.
v |
||
Faisal Khan 26 (11) Muhammad Ansar 3/35 (3.5 overs) |
- Kuwait won the toss and elected to field.
- Muhammad Ansar, Aphsal Ashraf, Sayed Monib, Usman Patel (Kuw), Adil Butt, Sarfraz Butt, Abdul Waheed and Imran Yousaf (Sau) all made their T20I debuts.
v |
||
Yousef Shadzehisarjou 20 (39) Faisal Khan 2/14 (4 overs) |
Abdul Waheed 41* (16) Nader Zahadiafzal 1/10 (1 over) |
- Saudi Arabia won the toss and elected to field.
- Mehran Dorri, Adel Kolasangiani (Irn), Ali Abbas and Khawar Zafar (Sau) all made their T20I debuts.
v |
||
Rohan Mustafa 51 (37) Sayed Monib 2/30 (4 overs) |
- Kuwait won the toss and elected to field.
- Naveed Fakhr (Kuw) made his T20I debut.
v |
||
Chirag Suri 75 (55) Abdul Wahid 4/14 (3 overs) |
Muhammad Naeem 27 (22) Ahmed Raza 2/18 (4 overs) |
- United Arab Emirates won the toss and elected to bat.
- Mohammad Ayaz and Ansh Tandon (UAE) both made their T20I debuts.
v |
||
Yousef Shadzehisarjou 39 (46) Mohammed Aslam 4/5 (4 overs) |
Usman Patel 59* (39) Naiem Bameri 1/14 (3 overs) |
- Kuwait won the toss and elected to field.
- Mehran Siasar (Irn) made his T20I debut.
Semi-final 1
v |
||
Ravija Sandaruwan 67 (39) Abdul Majid 1/21 (4 overs) |
Fiaz Ahmed 30 (25) Mohammed Aslam 4/23 (4 overs) |
- Bahrain won the toss and elected to field.
Semi-final 2
v |
||
- United Arab Emirates won the toss and elected to bat.
Final
2020 ACC Eastern Region T20
| Dates | 29 February – 6 March 2020 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | Asian Cricket Council |
| Cricket format | T20I |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin |
| Host(s) |  Thailand |
| Champions |  Singapore |
| Runners-up |  Hong Kong |
| Participants | 5 |
| Matches played | 10 |
| Player of the series | Tim David |
| Most runs | Sidhant Singh (153) |
| Most wickets | Aftab Hussain (8) Anantha Krishna (8) |
The 2020 ACC Eastern Region T20 tournament took place from 29 February to 6 March 2020 in Bangkok, Thailand, and acted as a first qualifying stage for the 2020 Asia Cup.[9][24][25] It was the first official men's T20I tournament to be played in Thailand.[26] China were initially due to play in the Eastern Region tournament, but were forced to withdraw due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] Bhutan and Myanmar were also included in the original schedule, but later withdrew.[8][9][25] Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nepal and Singapore all announced their squads for the tournament, with Aizaz Khan, Ahmad Faiz, Gyanendra Malla and Amjad Mahboob as their respective captains.[27][28][29][30]
The opening day of the tournament saw the hosts beaten by Singapore, followed by a surprise defeat for the much-fancied Nepal against Malaysia, who came into the event on the back of a 5–0 series whitewash against Hong Kong.[31] Nepal were beaten again on day two, this time by Hong Kong, and Thailand also suffered a second defeat with Malaysia taking a second victory.[32] Singapore thrashed the in-form Malaysians by 128 runs on day three thanks to an unbeaten 92 from just 32 balls for Tim David, and they were joined by Hong Kong on a record of two wins from two matches after their comfortable victory over Thailand.[33] After the penultimate round of matches, Nepal were eliminated despite Sandeep Lamichhane bowling a world record 22 dot ball deliveries in their victory over Thailand, due to Singapore's 16-run win over Hong Kong. The result also secured Singapore's qualification, and meant that the game between Hong Kong and Malaysia on the final day would determine the remaining place in the Asia Cup Qualifier.[34] Singapore won the tournament unbeaten with seven points, after their last fixture against Nepal was abandoned due to rain.[35][36] Hong Kong's victory over Malaysia in the last match of the tournament secured their qualification.[6] Singapore's Tim David was named player of the tournament, while compatriot Sidhant Singh and Hong Kong's Aftab Hussain won the batting and bowling awards, respectively.[35]
Round-robin
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Singapore |
4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3.117 |
| 2 | Hong Kong |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1.674 |
| 3 |  Malaysia |
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | −0.748 |
| 4 |  Nepal |
4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.690 |
| 5 | Thailand |
4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −4.283 |
Advance to Asia Cup Qualifier
v |
||
Sidhant Singh 59 (50) Mahsid Faheem 2/11 (2 overs) |
Daniel Jacobs 28 (28) Karthikeyan Subramanian 3/27 (4 overs) |
- Thailand won the toss and elected to field.
- Sorawat Desungnoen, Robert Raina, Nopphon Senamontree, Phiriyapong Suanchuai, Wanchana Uisuk (Tha) and Karthikeyan Subramanian (Sin) all made their T20I debuts.
v |
||
- Malaysia won the toss and elected to bat.
- Sandeep Lamichhane became the first bowler for Nepal to take 100 wickets in Twenty20 cricket.[37]
v |
||
- Nepal won the toss and elected to field.
- Haroon Arshad became the first bowler for Hong Kong to take a five-wicket haul in T20Is.[38]
v |
||
- Thailand won the toss and elected to bat.
v |
||
- Singapore won the toss and elected to bat.
v |
||
Nizakat Khan 36 (19) Naveed Pathan 1/19 (1.4 overs) |
- Thailand won the toss and elected to bat.
- Ismail Sardar (Tha) made his T20I debut.
v |
||
- Thailand won the toss and elected to bat.
- Bhuvan Karki (Nep) made his T20I debut.
- Sandeep Lamichhane (Nep) bowled a world record 22 dot balls in a T20I.[34]
v |
||
- Singapore won the toss and elected to bat.
v |
||
- Malaysia won the toss and elected to bat.
Asia Cup Qualifier
| Administrator(s) | Asian Cricket Council |
|---|---|
| Cricket format | T20I |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and Playoffs |
| Host(s) | Malaysia |
| Participants | 4 |
The four-team Asia Cup Qualifier was scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur in August 2020.[24] Kuwait and the UAE reached the final of the Western Region group, and as a result, also advanced to the Asia Cup Qualifier.[5] Singapore and Hong Kong finished as the top two teams in the Eastern Region group,[35] joining Kuwait and the UAE in the Asia Cup Qualifier.[6] However, in July 2020, the 2020 Asia Cup was postponed to June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[39]
References
- "ACC Calendar 2020".
- "All T20 Matches Between ICC Members to Get International Status". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Asia Cup 2020 postponed in wake of Covid-19; ACC looks for window in 2021". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- "No home Asia Cup for UAE after tournament is cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic". The National. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
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- "ACC Men's Eastern Region Thailand 2020". Asian Cricket Council. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
- "UAE batter Iran to record lowest score in a completed T20I innings". The National. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- "Oman eyes ACC Western Region triumph on road to 2020 Asia Cup". Oman Cricket. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
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- "Bahrain Squad for Asian Cricket Council T20 Western Region to be held in Oman from 21st to 28th Feb 2020". Bahrain Cricket Association (via Facebook). Retrieved 7 February 2020.
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- "Squad selected for Asian Cricket Council T20 Western Region – February 2020". Maldives Cricket. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
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- "Saudi Arabia squad". Saudi Cricket Centre (via Facebook). Retrieved 12 February 2020.
- "Robin Singh backs UAE youth for the Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier in Oman". The National. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- "UAE avoid Oman clash in semi-final of Asia Cup qualifying". The National. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
- "Day 3: Bahrain face Kuwait in semis after incredible win, UAE take on Qatar in second semifinal". Asian Cricket Council. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
- "Finals: Dominant UAE decimates Kuwait in final, wins ACC T20 title undefeated". Asian Cricket Council. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- "Complete schedule of Nepal cricket team in 2020 including a first home ODI series". The National. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- "Schedule for Eastern Region T20 Cup 2020 revealed". cricketbhutan.org (via Facebook). Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- "A treat for Cricket fans in Thailand as Bangkok hosts the ACC eastern region T20". Asian Cricket Council. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- "Hong Kong team announcement: ACC Eastern Region T20 tournament, 2020 squad". Cricket Hong Kong. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- "New dawn rising for Malaysian cricket". Malaysian Cricket Association. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
- "Squad for ACC Men's T20 Eastern Region 2020 to be held in Thailand from 29th February to 6th March". Cricket Association of Nepal (via Facebook). Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- "ACC Men's T20 Eastern Region 2020 squad". Singapore Cricket Association. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- "Day 1: Malaysia stun Nepal after Thailand fall short against Singapore". Asian Cricket Council. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
- "Day 2: Inspired Hong Kong defeat Nepal but Malaysia who lead the way with two wins out of two". Asian Cricket Council. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- "Day 3: Tim David brings the Big Bash to Bangkok as Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong are all level on four points". Asian Cricket Council. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- "Day 4: Lamichhane claims a world record but it is Singapore who head towards Asia Cup". Asian Cricket Council. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- "Day 5: Singapore confirmed as champions and Hong Kong beat Malaysia to finish second". Asian Cricket Council. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- "Rain disrupts Nepal-Singapore cricket match". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Sandeep Lamichhane completes century of wickets in T20s". BD CricTime. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- "EC weekly roundup: Thailand women headline a feast of Asian cricket". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- "Asia Cup 2020 postponed". The Daily Star. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
