Maldives win by 10 wickets as T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier B opens

Maldives opened the T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier B with a 10-wicket win over China at Bayuemas Oval on Thursday. They knocked off a target of 97 in 10.1 overs and lost nobody. Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong, China also won on the first day of the group in Kuala Lumpur. All three matches were played on 8 October.

The event is the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Asia Sub-Regional Qualifier B, the first rung of the Asian pathway to the 2028 tournament. Six teams play a single round robin. Three of them go through.

Day one in Kuala Lumpur

• Maldives beat China by 10 wickets at Bayuemas Oval
• Saudi Arabia beat Singapore by 75 runs at the UKM Oval in Bangi
• Hong Kong, China beat Malaysia by 7 runs on the DLS method at the STC Oval

Three grounds are in use: Bayuemas Oval, the UKM Oval and the STC Oval. Qualifier A started on 5 October. The two groups run side by side until 14 October. Matches are streamed free on ICC.tv, and on FanCode in India.

Maldives chase inside eleven overs

China won the toss, batted, and were bowled out for 96 in 16.3 overs. They had slipped to 53 for 5. Yoosuf Azyan took 3 for 33 and Ibrahim Rizan 2 for 7, according to the Maldives board's match report. Azyan then opened the chase and finished on 52 not out from 33 balls, with Mohamed Rishwan 44 not out from 29. The pair were never separated. Azyan was named player of the match.

Maldives play Singapore on Friday at the Selangor Turf Club.

Rain ends the host's reply

Rain cut short only one of the three matches. Malaysia were the side on the wrong end of it. Hong Kong, China batted first and made 140 for 5. Malaysia were 72 for 5 after 10 overs when the innings ended, seven runs short on the DLS method, according to the tournament scorecard. In the day's other match Saudi Arabia posted 174 for 7, with Abdul Waheed making 54 from 32 balls, and held Singapore to 99 for 7.

Six teams, three places

Qualifier B is made up of Hong Kong, China, plus China, Malaysia, Maldives, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. Qualifier A, running alongside it, has seven: Bahrain, Bhutan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Myanmar, Qatar and Thailand. Between them the two groups bring 13 teams and 36 matches to Kuala Lumpur between 5 and 14 October.

The top three in each group move on to the next stage of the Asian pathway in 2027, where six places at the regional final are at stake. China and Malaysia both lost their opening match. Twelve of the group's 15 matches are still to play. Mahinda Vallipuram, president of the Malaysian Cricket Association, said the hosts were "honoured to host these important events on the road to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2028". For most of these sides it is the only route there.