Abu Dhabi: Shaiman Anwar cracked his fourth consecutive half century for UAE but his knock went in vain as Afghanistan pulled off a five-wicket win with seven balls to spare in the Desert T20 tournament at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium on Monday night. Over 8,000 Afghanistan fans turned up to cheer for their team.
In the first match Tuesday, Ireland defeated Namibia by five wickets with two balls to spare at the Zayed stadium.
Anwar hit a run-a-ball 52 runs studded with seven boundaries. It was his third consecutive half century against Afghanistan following knocks of 60 and 56 in the just-concluded T20 series — but all was in vain as Afghanistan pulled off victories on all three occasions.
On Monday, UAE posted 146 for 7 in 20 overs through Anwar’s knock after being put into bat by Afghanistan. Except for opener Rohan Mustafa (29) and Gulam Shabber (20), none of the other batsmen got among the runs. Afghanistan pacer Dawlat Zadran with a four wicket spell and 18-year-old leg spinner Rashid Khan, with two wickets for just 12 runs from his four overs, checked the UAE batsmen’s run flow.
Speaking to Gulf News, UAE skipper Amjad Javed said: “We should have scored about 20 to 30 more runs knowing that we have to bowl second. The ball got wet in the dew and made bowling difficult too.”
In fact, UAE had got off to a good start after opener Mohammad Shehzad fell for 13 runs. In the first five overs they posted 50 runs through Mustafa and Anwar.
“We even got 90 runs in the first ten overs and should have posted a total of 170 runs. While bowling to Afghanistan we found it hard to bowl yorkers and slow balls. Now it is a do or die game against Ireland on Wednesday in Dubai,” added Javed.
Chasing the target, Afghanistan lost their dangerous and hard hitting opener Mohammad Shehzad to left-arm spinner Ahmad Raza for 15. Skipper Javed dismissed opener Najeeb Tarakai for a duck. Though Raza struck again to dismiss skipper Ashgar Stanikzai for 30 runs, Samiullah Shenwari hit 42 runs off 44 balls. In the last three overs, Afghanistan needed 31 runs but Karim Janat (22n.o) and Najibullah Zadran (11n.o) put on an unbeaten 33 runs partnership to ensure the victory.
Ireland recorded a five-wicket win over Namibia match through Stuart Poynter knock of 38 runs and Gary Wilson’s unbeaten 38. Namibia’s Louis van der Westhuizen knock of 50 went in vain.
Brief scores:
Afghanistan bt UAE by five wickets. UAE 146 for 7 in 20 overs (Rohan Mustafa 29, Shaiman Anwar 52, Gulam Shabber 20, Dawlat Zadran 4 for 44, Rashid Khan 2 for 12) Afghanistan 147 for 5 in 18.5 overs (Ashgar Stanikzai 30, Samiullah Shenwari 42, Karim Janat 22n.o, Ahmad Raza 2 for 18).
Ireland bt Namibia by five wkts. Namibia 146 for 9 in 20 overs (Louis van der Westhuizen 50, Stephan Baard 32, Gerrie Snyman 21) Ireland 149 for 5 in 19. 4 overs (Stuart Poynter 38, Kevin O’Brien 22, Gary Wilson 38n.o). Wednesday matches at Dubai International stadium: 2pm: UAE vs Ireland, 7pm: Hong Kong vs Netherlands
