KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia survived another batting collapse to beat the United Arab Emirates by five wickets for a third win in the ACC Under-19 Premier League cricket tournament at Club Aman today.
After Monday's poor display with the bat against Nepal, the Malaysian batsmen almost made a mess of their small run chase before Syed Aziz Syed Mubarak rescued the national juniors with an unbeaten 32.
Syed Aziz also starred with the ball after taking five wickets for 30 runs as UAE were bowled out for 53 in 20.3 overs.
In reply, Malaysia struggled to 28-5 inside nine overs, captain Virandeep Singh falling short of 20 for a third time in four matches when bowled for eight.
Fellow opener Shankar Shatish made just one run off 15 balls while Mahathir Razali was bowled for a duck upon his return after missing the last match due to fever.
Nik Nazran Sufri Nik Anuay was bowled for a golden duck before Ammar Rahim became by Yodhin Punja's fourth victim for one.
Syed Aziz was the only Malaysian to defy the UAE bowlers by hitting three fours and two sixes as from 24 balls.
The win gives Malaysia an outside chance of winning the title on Thursday when they play unbeaten Afghanistan, who lead the standings with eight points after beating Saudi Arabia by eight wickets.