Vala, Ura lead Barras to victory against Qatar

Thursday, 3 October 2024, 2:08 pm

Barramundis skipper Assad Vala in action (Image: Supplied)

PAPUA New Guinea Barramundis duo Assad Vala and Tony Ura scored over 100 runs to secure a seven-wicket (299/3) win over Qatar (298/8) in the 2024-2026 Cricket World Cup [CWC] ICC Challenger League A in Kenya.

The Taitenda Taibu-coached side returned to the drawing board following their seven-wicket loss during their second match against Jersey on Saturday.

In their One Day International fixture, Qatar won the toss and elected to bowl at the Ruaraka Sports Club Ground in Nairobi.

Qatar skipper Kamran Khan was the opening batter in the first inning scoring 94 runs off 97 balls, other two top batters included Muhammed Tanveer [68 off 74] and Tamoor Sajjad [47 off 47].

Barras who were at the bowling end of the crease saw skipper Asad Vala [1/31], Michael Charlie [2/70], Kabua Morea [2/49] and Sese Bau [2/43] take out wickets in a complete inning.

Meanwhile, Qatar who had a big score to chase in the second inning saw Barras opening batter Sese Bau retire early into the match before Tony Ura paired with Gaudi Toka and Vala.

Both Ura [111 runs off 90 balls] and Vala [129 not out] were on top of their game with Hiri Hiri [42 not out] also contributing to the chase apart from seven extras. The match was completed after 41 overs.

Vala was named man of the match following this victory.

Qatarian bowlers Assad Borham [1/70] and Muhammed Murad [1/42] both scored a wicket apart from a runout bowled by Mujeeb Khan.

Registering two wins out of three ODI fixtures so far, the next two fixtures are crucial for the men's national [PNG] cricket team as they are expected to play Kuwait on Friday and host Kenya on Saturday to wrap up their tour.