Under-19 World Cup: UAE team is heading the right path, Robin Singh says

Dubai: The UAE’s victory against Canada in the Under-19 World Cup opener has given plenty of positive signals and has shown that the team is in the right path moving forward feels country’s top official Robin Singh.

“The three games we played [in the Asia Cup] here has made a lot of difference as this team didn’t play a lot of cricket before that. It is a good sign, good young guys and it’s really good for UAE cricket going forward,” said Robin, Director of Cricket, Emirates Cricket Board.

Ali Naseer’s destructive 73 off just 50 balls did the damage for Alishan Sharafu’s side after Punya Mehra’s well-judged 71 had put the wheels in motion for a strong first innings total.

The Canadians had UAE reeling at 47-3 but Mehra, Nilansh Keswani (39) and Sharafu (37) helped them recover to 174 for five. And then came all-rounder Naseer’s brutal knock took UAE to 284 for seven in 50 overs.

Canada captain Mihir Patel led the chase with 96 off 105 balls to keep his team in contention before being the last to get dismissed off rival captain Sharafu with 50 runs needed off 3.2 overs. Wicketkeeper Anoop Chima (46) and lower-order batter Kairav Sharma (43) also offered resistance but two wickets each for Keswani, Sharafu, Adhitya Shetty and Jash Giyanani helped bowl Canada out for 235 to win by 49 runs at Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis.

“It is refreshing to see the young guys put their hands up and Ali Nasseer, Punya, Alishan all played well. I still felt we could have got 20-30 runs more and we have the potential to do that. As a batting unit we have the depth as we had a steady hand in Nilansh as well,” added former India all-rounder Robin. “The spinners bowled very well. Nilansh and Ayaan did very well and Josh played his part as well. Importantly I think we are getting better, keep improving all the time.”

One of the key reasons for UAE’s success is that the team is filled with all-rounders. Eight bowlers were employed in the 50-over contest and the variety will not allow the rival batters to get accustomed to a particular bowler.

“Most of the batters could chip with some overs. That’s always handy. At this level it doesn’t allow the opposition to settle in and understand the bowlers. We have a good flexibility and this is the way we want to play,” said Robin.

After crossing the first hurdle, the UAE face the real test against England and a win against the Test-playing nation is important to have a chance to progress to the next round.

“We had a practice game against England and we lost from good position despite not playing our full strength. So I am positive about our performance,” Robin added.

In the other matches of the day, four-time champions India scored a cruising 45-run win over South Africa in the Group B opener at Providence Stadium in Guyana.

Dhull, Ostwal shine for India

South African left-arm seamer Aphiwe Mnyanda struck early with the new ball to reduce India to 11/2. Captain Dhull showcased all the fighting spirit to strike a clinical 82 off 100 deliveries to steer the Men in Blue towards a competitive 232 in 50 overs with Kaushal Tambe (35), Shaik Rasheed (31) and Nishant Sindhu (27) also making valuable contributions.

In reply, South Africa got off to bad start and left-arm spinner Vicky Ostwal spun a web around the batters with figures of five for 28. Dewald Brevis (65) and Valentine Kitime’s (25) half-century partnership kept the game in the balance, while South African captain George Van Heerden made 36.

In the other matches of the day, Joshu Cox’s century guided Ireland to a 39-run win over a valiant Uganda, while skipper Emmanuel Bawa’s 100 guided Zimbabwe to a thumping win over Papua New Guinea.