Abu Dhabi: The UAE pulled off a nail-biting, last ball six-wicket victory over Namibia in their first match of the Desert T20 tournament at the Abu Dhabi Zayed Cricket Stadium on Sunday night.
Oman trounced Hong Kong by seven wickets in the first match on Monday.
Speaking to Gulf News after the tense match, UAE skipper Amjad Javed, who was in the middle partnering Muhammad Usman, who scored the winning run, said, it was one of the most exciting matches that they had played in recent years. “Chasing Namibia’s total of 152 for seven, we needed seven runs off the last over. Shaiman Anwar had guided us close to the target with a knock of 53 runs, got run out to the fifth ball of the over.
“As we needed one run to win, I asked Usman not to play a cross shot. Majority of the times a bowler will bowl a yorker at this stage. So having played for 15 years under captains like Khurram Khan, Saqib Ali and Arshad Ali and encountered many close matches, I was reminded of their advice and asked Usman to play with a straight bat. Usman pushed the ball straight past mid-on and we won the match.”
UAE was propelled on road to victory by vice-captain and opener Rohan Mustafa. He topscored with 56 runs off 34 balls with the one six and seven boundaries before being run out in the 13th over.
“Usman showed a lot of guts and composure to remain unbeaten with eight crucial runs. He had just flown in time for match from Pakistan after being with his mother who was sick and hospitalised. Tight matches bring out the best from everybody. If one can give 110 per cent during such moments, we can overcome any tough situation,” added Javed, who was determined to have a winning start for UAE.
“Last year we lost many tight matches and so a close match win in the first match this year augurs well for the future,” said Javed.
After winning the toss, Namibia failed to get to a good start due to the tight bowling of Mohammad Naveed, who bagged three wickets for 35 runs and the Man of the Match award.
He had removed both the Namibia openers for 20 runs. Jean Pierre Kotze top scored with 50 runs before UAE’s new pacer Zahoor Khan dismissed him. Khan also picked the valuable wicket of Namibia skipper Sarel Burger for 32.
Meanwhile, in the early match on Monday, Oman bowled out Hong Kong for a paltry 87 via a deadly three-wicket spell for 18 runs from Bilal Khan. Oman knocked off the runs with 54 balls to spare.
Brief scores:
(Sunday): UAE bt Namibia by six wickets. Namibia 152 for 7 in 20 overs (Jean Pierre Kotze 50, Sarel Burger 32, Mohammad Naveed 3 for 35, Zahoor Khan 2 for 26) UAE 153 for 4 in 20 overs (Rohan Mustafa 56, Shaiman Anwar 53).
(Monday): Oman bt Hong Kong by seven wickets. Hong Kong 87 in 18.3 overs (Bilal Khan 3 for 18) Oman 89 for 3 in 11 overs (Aqib Ilyas 56n.o).
