Afghanistan put Kuwait into bat first at the Pulchowk Engineering Ground and bundled the latter out for 133 runs in 19.2 overs. Opener Yasar Idrees scored 64 runs off 40 balls and Ali Zaheer added 20 runs off 17 balls for Kuwait. Nasim Baras and Samiullah Shenwai claimed three wickets each for Afghanistan.[break]
Chasing the total, Afghanistan reached 136/6 in 19.1 overs as Karim Sadiq scored 42 runs off 37 balls and Fazal Rahman added 24 runs off 21 balls. Najibullah Zadran struck a run-a-ball 26.
Following the win, Afghanistan finished runner-up in Group B behind the UAE, which has registered four consecutive victories in the group stage.
The UAE thrashed Bahrain by 114 runs on Sunday at the TU Cricket Ground, Kirtipur. The UAE put up 226/5 in 20 overs as Abdul Shakoor clobbered 84 runs off 45 balls with 11 fours and five sixes. Mohammad Azam hit 47 runs off 26 balls and Rohan Mustafa added 35 runs off 20 balls.
In reply, Bahrain could reach only 112/8 in 20 overs. Arshad Latif was the top scorer for Bahrain with 19 runs off 24 balls.
Meanwhile, Malaysia beat the Maldives by eight wickets to finish third in Group A. Batting first, the Maldives was all out for 85 runs in 19.4 overs. In reply, Malaysia reached 88/2 in 11.2 overs.
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