Singapore beat Bahrain for third straight win in World Cricket League

Contributed by the Singapore Cricket Association. Photos by Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports.

The Padang, Tuesday, September 1, 2009 - Singapore posted their third straight win after beating Bahrain by seven wickets in a top-of-the-table clash in the World Cricket League Division Six tournament.

Opener Buddhika Mendis hit an unbeaten ton, but lost fellow partner Dharmichand Mulewa at 4-1 in the second over, and skipper Chetan Suryawanshi at 14-2 in the fourth over in chasing a target of 164 in a rain-affected 34-overs match.

The left-hander hammered nine fours and three sixes in his 103 not out to steer the Republic home with 3.2 overs to spare. He put on 50 runs with Anish Paraam for the third wicket and an unbroken 100-run partnership with veteran Munish Arora, who was unbeaten on 37.

Bahrain, who defeated Malaysia and Guernsey in their opening matches, scored 122-4 in 34 overs when rain brought a premature end to their innings. Their score was revised to 163 to take into account their unused overs according to the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Team manager Mahmood Gaznavi said, "The victory was well-earned. Mendis' batting was immaculate. But a lot of credit must be given to the players when they fielded because they managed to contain Bahrain to 122-4 in 34 overs. The team once again stuttered when we lost Mulewa and Suryawanshi, but yet again, we showed great application and temperament in coming out of a difficult situation."

Brief scores: Singapore 164-3 in 30.4 overs (Buddhika Mendis 103*, Munish Arora 37*) beat Bahrain 122-4 in 34 overs by 7 wickets – D/L System

This win is the third in as many outings for Singapore . They defeated Guernsey by seven wickets on Saturday and were 55-run winners over Botswana on Monday. They show great potential in advancing to Division Five, where they will join Nepal, the United States of America, Fiji and Jersey in the tournament held next year.