With the win, Saudi Arabia left the bottom of the table, climb to fifth place Malaysia and Kuwait have already booked their spot from Asia Group A qualifier RIYADH: Saudi Arabia registered their first victory in the ongoing ICC Men"s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier B as they beat Bhutan in Doha, Qatar on Friday. Saudi Arabia were dominant in all fronts as they overcame Bhutan’s challenge by huge margin of 85 runs. Bhutan could only muster 85-8 in reply to Saudi’s 170-7 in 20 overs. Bhutan invited Saudi Arabia to have a bit first at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium and the openers used it to their advantage. Abdul Waheed and Faisal Khan brought up 50-run partnership in just 23 balls. Waheed, who hit 18 off 15 holed out to long on in second ball of sixth over. Faisal, who hit Karma Dorji for 24 runs in the fourth over then went boundary-less for the next nine balls and ultimately fell to Sagar Pradhan. He hit 3 fours and 4 sixes in his 20-ball-42. Skipper Waji Ul Hassan then steadied the ship for Saudi Arabia as he stitched mini partnerships with Usman Khalid (14) and Manan Ali (12). While Waji kept the scoreboard ticking his partners were slower than run-a-ball against Bhutan’s bowlers. Player of the match Waji brought on his second T20 half century hitting Dorji for a six and a four in 16th over. He then followed one wide but hit straight to mid wicket. He ended scoring 52 runs off 39 balls with 3 fours and sixes each. Zain Ul Abidin and Usman Najeeb hit a six each towards the end as Saudi reached 170 mark. In reply, Ishtiaq Ahmad rocked the top order of Bhutan with double blow. After giving away single in first over he came back to take wickets of Tenjin Ragbey and skipper Thinley Jamtsho in consecutive deliveries, both for nought. Bhutan were soon reduced to 10-3 as Usman. Najeeb hit Mikyo Dorji’s off stump. Bhutan were 29-4 midway through their innings. But Jigme Singye’s 35 runs helped Bhutan to 85 runs in 20 overs. Singye, who 2 fours and sixes each in 41 balls was run out in the last over. Ishtiaq and Usman took 2 wickets each while Shahzaib, Zain Ul Abidin and Abdul Waheed got one each. Despite losing first two matches in the tournament, Skipper Waji was hopeful of making it to the next round. ‘We didn’t achieve expected result in first two matches, but this win will help us. The tournament is long and we are hopeful of getting results to aid our target,’ he said. Saudi Arabia have left the bottom of the table with this win as they climb to fifth. UAE, who beat Cambodia by 5 wickets have maximum 6 points in 3 matches. Hosts Qatar and Thailand have 4 points each. Bahrain are on level with Saudi while Bhutan and Cambodia are yet to open their account. Top two teams from this qualifier will play the regional final, which serves as pathway for the ICC Men"s T20 World Cup to be held in 2026. Malaysia and Kuwait have already booked their spot from Asia Group A qualifier, while Samoa and Japan are representing the East Asia-Pacific region. Nepal, Oman and Papua New Guinea will also compete in the regional finals.