2023 ACC Men's Challenger Cup

Dates	24 February 2023 – 5 March 2023
Cricket format	50 overs
Tournament format(s)	Group round-robin and knockouts
Host(s)	Thailand
Champions	Saudi Arabia (1st title)
Runners-up	Bahrain
Participants	8
Matches	15
Most runs	Padmakar Surve (199)
Most wickets	Ishtiaq Ahmad (12) Abdul Majid (12)

The 2023 ACC Men's Challenger Cup was the inaugural edition of the ACC Men's Challenger Cup, hosted by Thailand in February and March of 2023.^[1] The tournament was part of the qualification pathway for the 2023 Asia Cup.^[1]

Eight teams took part in the tournament, among whom the top two qualified for the 2023 Men's Premier Cup.^[2] The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) announced the schedule of the tournament on 9 February 2023.^[3]

Bahrain and Saudi Arabia topped their respective groups before qualifying for the Men's Premier Cup by winning the two semi-final matches, with Saudi Arabia beating Bahrain in the final by 10 wickets.^[4]

Teams

Group stage

Group A

Points table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR
1	Bahrain	3	3	0	0	6	4.844
2	Bhutan	3	1	2	0	2	−0.340
3	Iran	3	1	2	0	2	−0.779
4	Maldives	3	1	2	0	2	−2.473

Source: Cricket.com

  Advanced to the knockout stage

Fixtures

24 February 2023 10:00 Scorecard

Bhutan  104 (32.2 overs)	v	Bahrain 105/3 (29.3 overs)
Thinley Jamtsho 30 (34) Sathaiya Veerapathiran 3/15 (6.1 overs)		Junaid Aziz 56 (85) Suprit Pradhan 2/18 (4.3 overs)

Bahrain won by 7 wickets Asian Institute of Technology Ground, Bangkok Umpires: Samad Akbar (Tha) and Durga Subedi (Nep) Player of the match: Junaid Aziz (Bhr)

• Bahrain won the toss and elected to field.

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24 February 2023 10:00 Scorecard

Maldives  157 (31.2 overs)	v	Iran 130 (42.3 overs)
Umar Adam 58 (40) Zahed Afarin 5/22 (8.2 overs)		Zahed Afarin 25 (59) Umar Adam 4/22 (10 overs)

Maldives won by 27 runs Terdthai Cricket Ground, Bangkok Umpires: Anand Natarajan (Sin) and Arif Ansari (Tha) Player of the match: Umar Adam (Mdv)

• Maldives won the toss and elected to bat.

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26 February 2023 09:30 Scorecard

Bahrain  380/6 (50 overs)	v	Maldives 88 (31.3 overs)
Shahbaz Badar 178 (144) Ibrahim Hassan 3/79 (10 overs)		Mohamed Mahfooz 35 (41) Sathaiya Veerapathiran 2/3 (4 overs)

Bahrain won by 292 runs Asian Institute of Technology Ground, Bangkok Umpires: Anand Natarajan (Sin) and Narayanan Sivan (Mas)

• Bahrain won the toss and elected to bat.

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26 February 2023 09:30 Scorecard

Iran  150 (48.3 overs)	v	Bhutan 100 (24 overs)
Abdolvahab Ebrahimpour 37 (69) Tenzin Wangchuk 2/19 (10 overs)		Gakul Ghalley 22 (29) Masood Jayezeh 4/37 (7 overs)

Iran won by 50 runs Terdthai Cricket Ground, Bangkok Umpires: Rahat Ali (Sau) and Durga Subedi (Nep)

• Iran won the toss and elected to bat.

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28 February 2023 09:30 Scorecard

Iran  46 (19.5 overs)	v	Bahrain 50/0 (4 overs)
Abbas Ali Raeisi 14* (41) Abdul Majid 4/12 (6.5 overs)		Sohail Ahmed 30* (12)

Bahrain won by 10 wickets Terdthai Cricket Ground, Bangkok Umpires: Arif Ansari (Tha) and Narayanan Sivan (Mas) Player of the match: Abdul Majid (Bhr)

• Iran won the toss and elected to bat.

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28 February 2023 09:30 Scorecard

Maldives  105 (42.2 overs)	v	Bhutan 106/6 (28.1 overs)
Umar Adam 23 (22) Ngawang Thinley 3/25 (10 overs)		Jigme Singye 24 (49) Leem Shafeeg 4/11 (5 overs)

Bhutan won by 4 wickets Asian Institute of Technology Ground, Bangkok Umpires: Samad Akbar (Tha) and Rahat Ali (Sau)

• Bhutan won the toss and elected to field.

Group B

Points table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR
1	Saudi Arabia	3	3	0	0	6	4.844
2	Thailand	3	2	1	0	4	2.053
3	Indonesia	3	1	2	0	2	0.243
4	Myanmar	3	0	3	0	0	−5.293

Source: Cricket.com

  Advanced to the knockout stage

Fixtures

25 February 2023 09:30 Scorecard

Indonesia  117 (29.3 overs)	v	Saudi Arabia 118/2 (25 overs)
Padmakar Surve 63 (73) Zuhair 3/14 (3.3 overs)		Waqar Ul Hassan 49* (67) Ferdinando Banunaek 1/9 (2 overs)

Saudi Arabia won by 8 wickets Asian Institute of Technology Ground, Bangkok Umpires: Samad Akbar (Tha) and Arif Ansari (Tha)

• Saudi Arabia won the toss and elected to field.

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25 February 2023 09:30 Scorecard

Thailand  332/6 (50 overs)	v	Myanmar 60 (24.3 overs)
Daniel Jacobs 152 (143) Htet Lin Oo 3/58 (7 overs)		Swan Htet Ko Ko 22 (31) Chanchai Pengkumta 3/19 (5 overs)

Thailand won by 272 runs Terdthai Cricket Ground, Bangkok Umpires: Rahat Ali (Sau) and Narayanan Sivan (Mas)

• Thailand won the toss and elected to bat.

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27 February 2023 09:30 Scorecard

Thailand  80 (25.2 overs)	v	Saudi Arabia 81/1 (15.4 overs)
Akshay Yadav 19 (43) Zain-ul-Abidin 3/18 (6.2 overs)		Waqar Ul Hassan 34* (35) Jandre Coetzee 1/5 (3 overs)

Saudi Arabia won by 9 wickets Asian Institute of Technology Ground, Bangkok Umpires: Anand Natarajan (Sin) and Durga Subedi (Nep)

• Saudi Arabia won the toss and elected to field.

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27 February 2023 09:30 Scorecard

Indonesia  300/8 (50 overs)	v	Myanmar 105 (28.5 overs)
Padmakar Surve 128 (91) Nyein Chan Soe 3/38 (7 overs)		Ko Ko Lin Thu 22 (30) Gede Arta 5/23 (6.5 overs)

Indonesia won by 195 runs Terdthai Cricket Ground, Bangkok Umpires: Samad Akbar (Tha) and Arif Ansari (Tha) Player of the match: Padmakar Surve (Idn)

• Indonesia won the toss and elected to bat.

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1 March 2023 09:30 Scorecard

Saudi Arabia  424/7 (50 overs)	v	Myanmar 97 (25.2 overs)
Abdul Manan Ali 102* (80) Aung Ko Ko 2/72 (8 overs)		Ye Naing Tun 29 (31) Ahmed Baladraf 4/30 (8.3 overs)

Saudi Arabia won by 327 runs Terdthai Cricket Ground, Bangkok Umpires: Narayanan Sivan (Mas) and Durga Subedi (Nep)

• Saudi Arabia won the toss and elected to bat.

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1 March 2023 09:30 Scorecard

Indonesia  125 (42 overs)	v	Thailand 127/6 (28.5 overs)
Danilson Hawoe 37 (50) Nopphon Senamontree 5/13 (10 overs)		Phiriyapong Suanchuai 44 (65) Ferdinando Banunaek 3/21 (5.5 overs)

Thailand won by 4 wickets Asian Institute of Technology Ground, Bangkok Umpires: Rahat Ali (Sau) and Anand Natarajan (Sin)

• Thailand won the toss and elected to field.

Knockout stage

Bracket

	Semi-finals					Final
	A2	Bhutan	62 (22.2)
	B1	Saudi Arabia	63/1 (12.3)
						A1	Bahrain	26 (21.1)
						B1	Saudi Arabia	30/0 (4.1)
	A1	Bahrain	169 (45.5)
	B2	Thailand	91 (26.4)

Semi-finals

1st semi-final

3 March 2023 09:30 Scorecard

Bhutan  62 (22.2 overs)	v	Saudi Arabia 63/1 (12.3 overs)
Suprit Pradhan 24 (29) Ishtiaq Ahmad 4/7 (5 overs)		Waqar Ul Hassan 41* (41)

Saudi Arabia won by 9 wickets Terdthai Cricket Ground, Bangkok Umpires: Anand Natarajan (Sin) and Narayanan Sivan (Mas) Player of the match: Ishtiaq Ahmad (Sau)

• Bhutan won the toss and elected to bat.

2nd semi-final

3 March 2023 09:30 Scorecard

Bahrain  169 (45.5 overs)	v	Thailand 91 (26.4 overs)
Sohail Ahmed 64 (115) Jandre Coetzee 4/18 (8 overs)		Robert Raina 28 (41) Zeeshan Abbas 4/33 (7 overs)

Bahrain won by 78 runs Asian Institute of Technology Ground, Bangkok Umpires: Rahat Ali (Sau) and Durga Subedi (Nep)

• Thailand won the toss and elected to field.

Final

5 March 2023 09:30 Scorecard

Bahrain  26 (21.1 overs)	v	Saudi Arabia 30/0 (4.1 overs)
Abdul Majid 7 (42) Atif-Ur-Rehman 4/10 (8 overs)		Waqar Ul Hassan 16* (13)

Saudi Arabia won by 10 wickets Terdthai Cricket Ground, Bangkok Umpires: Durga Subedi (Nep) and Narayanan Sivan (Mas) Player of the match: Atif-Ur-Rehman (Sau)

• Saudi Arabia won the toss and elected to field.

References