Kuala Lumpur maintain unbeaten streak in Premier League
DEFENDING champions Kuala Lumpur maintained their unbeaten run in the Malaysian Cricket Premier League after completing back-to-back wins over Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia yesterday.
Having beaten UKM by 10 runs on Saturday, KL squeezed past the same opponents by three runs yesterday at the Kinrara Oval for their fifth win in as many matches.
KL left it late to secure victory with UKM needing four runs off the final delivery of the innings but Fikri Makram only managed a single off Pavandeep Singh to leave UKM stranded on 210 for nine in reply to KL's 213 all out.
To make matters worse for Fikri, he also fell two runs short of a 100 having carried his bat through the innings and faced 149 balls while hitting five fours and a six.
Earlier, KL rode on Syed Aziz Syed Mubarak's 84 not out after slumping to 71-4 while Virandeep Singh scored 49 runs off 98 balls to give KL a target they could defend.
UKM started well, reaching 50 in 9.1 overs, though they fell behind the required run-rate after 20 overs.
UKM lost two wickets in the final over including that of Nik Nabil Safwan Nik Anuay, who was run out off the last ball as UKM desperately sought the winning runs.
The defeat was UKM's fourth in eight matches though they should still qualify for the semifinals from the five-team league.
Meanwhile, Penang upset Selangor by five wickets in Georgetown yesterday to avenge Saturday's 32-run defeat at the Penang Sports Club ground.
Aminuddin Ramly scored 88 not out to lead Selangor to 227-4 in 50 overs but six Penang batsmen scored in double figures, plus 20 extras, to lead the fightback.
Khizar Hayat Durrani (58) and Sharvin Muniandy (41) put on 107 runs for the unbroken sixth wicket to steer Penang to their second win in six matches.
Yesterday's display with the bat was a significant improvement on Saturday, when Penang folded for 65 in 24 overs chasing Selangor's 97 all out.
On Wednesday, KL meet bottom side Armed Forces before the Klang Valley derby between KL and Selangor takes place on Saturday and Sunday. Penang also host Forces in a double-header at the weekend to complete the league fixtures. Devinder Singh