ILT20 Gulf Cricket Championships: UAE Dominates, Saudi Arabia Stuns Oman

The United Arab Emirates continued their unbeaten streak in the ILT20 Gulf Cricket Championships, taking down Qatar by 23 runs and remaining top of the table with four wins. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia pulled off a shocking upset, defeating Oman by 8 wickets, and injected life into the competition at the second spot.

The UAE's Muhammad Waseem led the charge with 65 runs, supported by Simranjeet Singh's four-wicket haul against Qatar. The UAE's innings reached 162/6 in 20 overs, a total Qatar couldn't surpass despite Tanveer's 47, falling short by 23 runs in what was a below-par chase. Himanshu Rathod picked up three wickets for Qatar in the match. In a closely-fought contest, UAE appeared every inch a champion outfit.

The dramatic turn of events in the Oman vs Saudi Arabia match, however, left Oman helpless. A 91-run opening partnership between Usman Khalid and Faisal Khan laid the foundation for Saudi Arabia's memorable victory, after an unbeaten 70 from Faisal Khan sealed the win with seven balls to spare. Following Kalid's dismissal, Faisal took charge, hitting 70 off 40 balls including seven boundaries and four sixes en route to a stunning upset that jolted Oman's title ambitions, ruling out their top two spot from contention.

Mohammed Nadeem, top-scorer for Oman with 60 off 49 balls, fell just shy of guiding his team home. Saudi Arabia's tightly knit bowling too must be given a lot of credit with Usman Najeeb and Ishtiaq Ahmed setting it up for their bowlers.

The upsets and victories in these two ILT20 Gulf Cricket Championships matches sparked excitement, and wreaked havoc on the titles up for grabs. The results now pitch Saudi Arabia locking horns with Oman, Kuwait, and a top-ranked UAE – although the latter is at the top, a five-run lead essentially ruling them out while Kuwait and Oman hold a theoretical hope that may restrain third-placed UAE from snugly occupying the second position.