THE Malaysian men’s cricket team qualified for the SEA Games T10 final, thanks largely to a twist of fate that saw Thailand’s surprise victory over Singapore in a group match.
The Malaysians will once again go up against Cambodia in the gold-medal winning match on Tuesday.
Malaysia had on Friday defeated Thailand by 53 runs but suffered a shocking nine-run defeat against Singapore on Saturday. The result against Singapore was a blow to Malaysia’s hopes of making the final.
The Singaporeans needed a win over the Thais in their last group match to qualify for the final. The Thais, however, triumphed by seven wickets which opened the gate for Malaysia’s entry to the final.
Singapore scored 83 runs while Thailand replied with 84-3 in 8.2 overs. Sorawat Desungnoen scored 33 runs off 21 balls.
All three teams had two points each from two matches, but Malaysia topped the standings with a better net run rate of 2.20. Singapore are second in the group with a net run rate of (-0.43) while Thailand are bottom of the table with (-1.88) net run rate. Singapore will face Group B runners-up Philippines in the bronze medal playoff match.
