Afghanistan have won the ACC Twenty20 Cup in emphatic style, beating the United Arab Emirates by 84 runs in the final in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

Urged on by a 1000-strong throng of supporters, the Afghans were led out of early trouble when 63 for 4 by allrounder Mohammad Nabi, whose 73 from 38 balls propelled the score to 196 for 8. A fifth-wicket partnership of 61 with Raees Ahmadzai steadied things to provide Nabi with a launching pad for his Man-of-the-Match innings which included nine sixes and four fours. A cameo from Samiullah Shenwari (29 from 14 balls) further boosted the visitors to their final. The veteran UAE offspinner Mohamed Tauqir nabbed 3 for 29 for the locals.

Sometime Afghanistan opening bowler Shahpoor Zadran perhaps consolidated his place in the team to wreck the UAE reply with three early wickets as the home side stuttered to 23 for 3. The opener Muhammad Iqbal lasted one over in which he hit 10 runs, including a six. There was just one partnership (43) of any substance in the UAE innings, between the captain Khurram Khan (34 off 18 balls) and Naeemuddin Aslam (37 from 30). Nabi took the last four wickets in nine balls to add another trophy to Afghanistan's mantlepiece.

Both sides had marched into the final with easy semi-final wins on Saturday, Afghanistan sweeping aside Kuwait by eight wickets, while the UAE routed Oman for 50 to cruise home by six wickets with almost 13 overs to spare.

Oman rebounded in the early game on Sunday to win the third place play-off against Kuwait by 23 runs.

ACC Twenty20 Cup Final:
Afghanistan beat United Arab Emirates by 84 runs

Afghanistan 196 for 8 (Mohammad Nabi 73, Moiz Shahid 2 for 36, Mohamed Tauqir 3-29)

UAE 112 (14.3 overs) (Kamran Khan 34, Naeemuddin Aslam 37; Shahpoor Zadran 3-28, Mohammad Nabi 4-7)

Three of the semi-finalists were decided on the fourth day of the ACC Twenty20 Cup, with the three unbeaten teams - Afghanistan, Oman and UAE - all progressing to the last four.

UAE grabbed the headlines with a 209-run rout of the hapless China side, the biggest margin in a representative Twenty20 match. UAE made 236 for 5 and then bundled out China for 27, 15 of which were extras. In a week Australia’s chief executive claimed the ICC would be better off promoting cricket in China than in some existing Associates, it again highlighted the yawning chasm between the hopes of those running the game and the reality of the side itself.

Afghanistan bowled out Saudi Arabia for 72 to win by nine wickets, but Oman were made to struggle more, even so they beat Malaysia by 35 runs after posting 197 for 5. Nepal’s stop-start tournament continued with a six-wicket win over Qatar.

The closest game was between Hong Kong and Singapore where Singapore scraped home by one wicket off the penultimate ball.

The individual performance of the round came from Kuwait’s Khalid Butt who smashed 142 off 53 deliveries, including ten sixes, in his team’s nine-wicket win over Bahrain.

Afghanistan, Oman and UAE emerged as the frontrunners after the third day of the ACC Twenty20 Cup.

The match between Afghanistan and Hong Kong was expected to be one of the matches of the tournament, but Hong Kong, coming into the match on the back of successive defeats, again failed to impress. Afghanistan raced to 222 for 5 thanks to half centuries from Mohammed Shahzad (74 from 46 balls) and Mohammed Nabi (65 from 31) and Hong Kong almost gave up from the off as they meandered to 102 for 9.

Oman beat another disappointing side, Nepal, by 12 runs in a low-scoring game. Oman scraped 112 for 9 in their 20 overs, Dipendra Chaudhry turning in 4 for 19, but Nepal’s batsmen again failed as they were bowled out for 100.

Saudi Arabia and UAE went into their clash with 100% records, but Saudi Arabia struggled after a poor start and only managed 101 for 6, a score which never looked enough as UAE romped to a nine-wicket win in a little over half their overs. Mohammed Iqbal feasted on some average bowling to score 71 from 37 balls.

In a battle of the expats at Sharjah, Qatar edged past Bahrain by three runs in a game which went down to the last delivery. Bahrain needed four to win but Haroon Naseer was dismissed going for glory.

China were again outclassed as they went down by 132 runs to Singapore, limping to 93 for 7 when set a target of 226. Chetan Suryawanshi recorded the tournament’s second hundred, hammering a brutal 102 from 38 balls

Kuwait also eased to a straightforward win, beating Malaysia by 97 runs after bowling them out for 112.

The highly-fancied Nepal were taken to a bowl-out before they squeezed past over 2007 semi-finalists Kuwait, while Afghanistan, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia and UAE also registered wins on the second day of the ACC Twenty20 Cup.

Nepal dismissed Kuwait for 123 in 19.1 overs, Dependra Choudhari the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 11. Mahaboob Alam (32 from 33) appeared to have set Nepal on the way bit the middle order failed and it took a last-ball six from Binod Bhandari to send the game into a bowl-out. Nepal won that 3-2.

Oman were taken all the way by Qatar who scored an impressive 178 for 8, an innings built around a 38-ball 62 from Tamoor Sajjad. Oman lost early wickets but Adnan Ilyas (75 from 40) got the innings back on course and in the end they won by five wickets with nine balls in hand.

UAE managed 137 for 9 against Hong Kong but that proved too much, Hong Kong being restricted to 110 for 9 to slump to their second defeat in a row.

Afganistan dismissed Singapore for 96 in their allotted overs and then knocked off the runs in 12.4 overs to secure an eight-wicket win.

China, who continue to be fawned over by many at the top of the game, again failed in the middle as they struggled to 100 for 7 chasing Saudi Arabia’s 155 for 6.

Malaysia hit the highest total of the day, their 218 for 4 proving far too much for Bahrain who crashed to an 84-run defeat after managing 134 for 9.

Tony Munro

Saudi Arabia have caused the first surprise of the ACC Twenty20 Cup by beating Hong Kong by one wicket in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

The veteran Roy Lamsam top scored for Hong Kong - who batted first - with 53, propelling the ACC Trophy Elite champions to 132 for 6 from their 20 overs. The Allrounder Shoaib Ali, who earlier had taken 2 for 29 in the Hong Kong innings, led the reply for Saudi Arabia with 29 to pick up the Man-of-the-Match award. Hussain Anwar (21) chipped in for Saudi Arabia as they got home with four balls to spare.

Malaysia cruised to victory against Nepal, overtaking a target of 113 with six wickets and 20 balls to spare. Only Mehboob Alam (31) and Gyendra Mulla (22) caused Malaysia any concern thanks to tight bowling from Muthuraman Sockalingham (2 for 17 from four overs) and Suresh Navaratnam (0 for 17 from four overs).

The long-term opener Rakesh Madhavan (30 from 31 balls) ensured the Malaysians' chase began briskly, hitting six fours and a six. Middle-order batsman Mohammad Faiz continued the tone of the innings, hitting 40 off 34 balls, including two fours and a six.

In other matches, the United Arab Emirates batsman Amjad Javed hit the event's first century as the hosts beat Singapore by 62 runs. Amjad smashed 115 to help the UAE rattle up 219 for 5. Javed clouted 11 fours and eight sixes in his 58-ball onslaught to deservedly win the Man-of-the-Match award.

Zeeshan Ahmed was almost as easy a choice for Man of the Match in Oman's 108-run win over Bahrain in Abu Dhabi. Ahmed belted a six and seven fours in a 35-ball 55 as all of Oman's batsmen scored freely. Of the Bahrain bowlers, only Halal Abbasi and Sarfraz Ahmed (2 for 43) seemed to have any impact on Oman.

Ahmed took a couple of timely wickets to stall Bahrain's reply and leave him with 2 for 22 from four overs. Bahrain's best batsman was Aamar Shahzad (43 not out in 47 balls) but he did not receive enough support.

China has confirmed its status as the Asian Games cricket organiser's worst nightmare following its nine-wicket loss to Afghanistan in Sharjah. Making its international Twenty20 debut, China survived 17.5 overs against the Afghan attack to manage 37, of which extras contributed 13. Song Yang Wang and Ai Di both top scored with seven. The fast bowler Hamid Hassan nabbed four wickets for Afghanistan, all bowled.

There was an early hiccup in Afghanistan's innings when Noor Ali was caught behind by Ai Di for a third ball duck. Karim Sadiq settled things down for thereafter, striking 26 off 12 deliveries to guide his team home with 16 overs to spare.

Scores:
Group A

United Arab Emirates beat Singapore by 62 runs

UAE 219 for 5 (20 overs) (Muhammad Iqbal 67, Amjad Javed 115; Pramodh Raja 2 for 21)

Singapore 157 (19.5 overs) (B Mendis 52, C Ruwan 32; Fayyaz Ahmed 3 for 48, Mohamed Tauqir 2 for 26, Khurram Khan 2 for 15, Ahmed Raza 2 for 19)

Saudi Arabia beat Hong Kong by 1 wicket

Hong Kong 132 for 6 (20 overs) (R Lamsam 53, Irfan Ahmed 28; Hammad Saeed 2 for 19, Shoaib Ali 2 for 29

Saudi Arabia 135 for 9 (19.3 overs) (Shoaib Ali 29, Hussain Anwar 21; Nadeem Ahmed 2 for 25, Irfan Ahmed 2 for 24, Moner Ahmed 2 for 28)

Afghanistan beat China by 9 wickets

China 37 (17.5 overs) (Shahpoor Zadran 2 for 11, Hamid Hassan 4 for 5, Mohammad Nabi 2 for 2)

Afghanistan 40 for 1 (4 overs)

Group B

Oman beat Bahrain by 108 runs

Oman 219 for 5 (20 overs) (Ghazanfar Iqbal 34, Zeeshan Ahmed 55, Adnan Iyas 34; Sarfraz Ahned 2 for 43)

Bahrain 111 for 7 (20 overs (Aamar Shahzad 43*; Zeeshan Ahmed 2 for 43)

Malaysia beat Nepal by 6 wickets

Nepal 112 (20 overs)

Malaysia 113-4 (17.4 overs)

Kuwait beat Qatar by 65 runs

Kuwait 195-5 (20 overs)

Qatar 130 (17.5 overs)

Tony Munro

Allrounder Paras Khadka will be leading Nepal in the Asian Cricket Council Twenty20 Cup to be held in the UAE from November 22-30. In a move, which had been widely anticipated, the 22-year-old replaced Binod Das as captain, ending the latter's four-year tenure.

Khadka, who bats in the middle order and bowls medium pace, was elevated to Nepal's senior team in 2004 after playing a key role in the Under-19 team's successes in the World Cups. He has played 30 international matches for the senior team, scoring 630 runs at 30 and has taken 27 wickets at 16.44.

Nepal's successes at the Under-19 level and the promise of emerging talent led to expectations from the senior team led by Das. However, they were not met, as Nepal lost the semi-finals of several major tournaments last year, including the World Cricket League Division 5 in Jersey and the ACC Trophy in Malaysia.

The team is currently in Delhi playing local selections and they will then depart for the UAE on November 20. Nepal's first match of the tournament is against Malaysia on November 22. They have been placed in Group B - arguably the weaker of the two groups - which also includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman. Group A features Afghanistan, who came fifth at the World Cup Qualifiers this year, reigning ACC Trophy Elite champions Hong Kong, Elite finalists, UAE, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and China.

Nepal will again be coached by former Sri Lanka batsman, Roy Dias.

Squad: Paras Khadka (capt), Binod Das, Dipendra Chaudhary, Paresh Lohani, Sharad Vesawkar, Gyanendra Malla, Shakti Gauchan, Basant Regmi, Amrit Bhattarai, Binod Bhandari, Mahaboob Alam, Naresh Bahadur Budhaayer, Mahesh Kumar Chhetri, Sanjam Regmi; Roy Dias (coach), Manjur Alam Khan (team official), Naresh Kumar Shrestha (manager).