Saudi Arabia defeat Qatar by seven wickets at ACC Premier Cup 2023 in Nepal

Saudi Arabia beat Qatar by seven wickets on Saturday in their second Group A fixture of the ACC Premier Cup 2023 in Nepal.

The national cricket team lost their opening match against Malaysia by eight wickets on Thursday. Their win against Qatar leaves Saudi Arabia in fourth place in the group standings after two rounds of matches. Nepal lead the table with four points, with Malaysia and Oman in second and third on two points each. Qatar remain in fifth and last spot with no points.

"Saudi Arabia stun Qatar to pick up their first win in the tournament! Seamers Istiaq and Atif starred with the ball and Abdul Waheed batted out of his skin – scoring 124 runs off just 108 balls to help Saudi Arabia to a 7-wicket victory," tweeted the ACC after the victory.

Saudi Arabia won the toss, and elected to field first.

The Qatari batsmen were bowled out for a total of 216. Mohammed Tanveer was top scorer with 46, with opener Kamran Khan contributing 36 and captain Mohammed Rizlan 28. Ishtiaq Ahmad had the best bowling spell for the men in green with four wickets in 9.5 overs at cost of 46 runs.

The Saudi top order proceeded to reach 220 in 34.2 overs for the loss of only three wickets.

Abdul Waheed was top scorer for Saudi Arabia with 124 runs, with Waqar Ul-Hassan next on 55. Captain Hisham Sheikh chipped in with 21 runs.

Qatar's Ikramullah Khan, who bowled five overs, was successful in taking two Saudi wickets for 28 runs, while Khurram Shahzad claimed the other wicket for two runs.

Saudi Arabia will play their next match against the hosts Nepal on Monday at the Mulpani Ground in Kathmandu.

The ACC Premier Cup, which started on April 18, is an integral part of the Asian Cricket Council’s new pathway structure, acting as a