JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia beat Hong Kong by two wickets in the ACC U-19 Elite Cup in Kuala Lumpur Monday. Akram Aslam and Mohammad Abdullah picked up three wickets each for 12 and 18 runs respectively as Saudi Arabia, which opted to field first, bowled Hong Kong out for 117 in 37.5 overs. Anshuman Rath hit 40, while Waqas Khan added 20 for Hong Kong. Saudi Arabia, in reply, reached the winning target of 118 in 42.3 overs for the loss of 8 wickets. Waqas Khan put on an excellent show with the ball and finished with figures of 6-17 for Hong Kong. Akram Aslam was named the Man-of-the-Match. Saudi Arabia is in Group A along with Afghanistan, Hong Kong, UAE and Thailand. Group B comprises Nepal, Qatar, Bahrain, Malaysia and Kuwait. Afghanistan, having played three matches, is on top in Group A with 6 points, while Saudi Arabia is second on 4 points. Hong Kong and the UAE are third with 2 points each, but the UAE has played only two matches. Nepal and Malaysia are on top in Group B with 6 points each after three matches each. They are followed by Kuwait on 2, while Bahrain and Qatar have yet to score a win. In other matches Monday Nepal beat Bahrain by 196 runs; Afghanistan thrashed Thailand by 395 runs; and Malaysia beat Kuwait by 8 wickets. The Kingdom's team next plays the UAE on Wednesday. — SG
