Abu Dhabi: With the World Cup qualifying hopes sealed well before the final match of the Super Six, UAE will be looking to play the role of a spoiler when they take on Zimbabwe at the Harare Stadium on Thursday.
For hosts Zimbabwe, this is a do-or-die match as any slip-up against bottom-placed UAE would mean that it would be curtains as far as their chances of making to the World Cup in England is concerned.
Zimbabwe’s loss against Windies on Monday ended the home side’s unbeaten streak in the tournament and also left them in danger of not finishing in the top two.
A win against UAE and they’ll be travelling to England next year. Lose, and they’re out. If the UAE can pull off that shock win over Zimbabwe, Afghanistan can also qualify, provided they beat Ireland on Friday. With five teams in the Super Sixes standing a chance to qualify, even the net run rate could come into picture.
Though UAE managed to retain the ODI status and marched into the Super Six with wins against Papua New Guinea and The Netherlands, it has been a struggle for them in the Super Six stage.
They have been found wanting in all departments but what has hurt them the most was their batting. Inability to chase down totals or post challenging ones made it all the more difficult to press for a win. The pacers struggled with their line and length and their performance had been in patches. Adding to their woes, were the injury worries.
Skipper Rohan Mustafa accepted that it has been a disappointing showing from his team so far in the Super Six but they would like to finish off on a high with a win against Zimbabwe.
“Yes, very much disappointing to say the least. But having said that we had some injury worries and some of them were unwell. Rameez Shahzad, Ashfaq (Ahmad) and (Ghulam) Shabber were also ill in one match. They are our main players and it hurt us but we should have still performed well. We had done well against Scotland in Dubai so we should have but that’s cricket and hopefully the boys can learn from it,” said Mustafa, who also revealed that his team lacked a bit of experience.
“The fast bowlers didn’t bowl well in the first two to three matches of the Super Six. They bowled well in the last match against Afghanistan but then the batters didn’t put enough runs on the board. If we had scored 250 something, it would have been different,” said Mustafa, who urged his teammates to pull up their socks against Zimbabwe as winning would help them show the world they are a capable side.
“Everybody has to see this as a challenge and give it everything. We have to show that we deserved to be in the Super Six and that, I think, is enough motivation going into the match. There is no pressure and all we need to do is play our natural game and back ourselves,” said Mustafa.
Squads
UAE: Rohan Mustafa (c), Adnan Mufti, Ahmad Raza, Amir Hayat, Ashfaq Ahmad, Chirag Suri, Ghulam Shabber (wk), Imran Haider, Mohammad Boota, Mohammad Naveed, Muhammad Usman, Qadeer Ahmad, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Zahoor Khan.
Zimbabwe: Graeme Cremer (c), Tendai Chatara, Tendai Chisoro, Craig Ervine, Kyle Jarvis, Hamilton Masakadza, Solomon Mire, Peter Moor, Blessing Muzarabani, Sikandar Raza, Brendan Taylor (wk), Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams, Cephas Zhuwao
