Raza bowls UAE to exciting victory

Al Dhaid: Twenty-one-year-old left-arm spinner Ahmad Raza produced a deadly spell of four wickets for eight runs to bowl the UAE to an exciting 27-run win over Hong Kong in the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Twenty20 tournament at the Al Dhaid Cricket Village ground.

Though the UAE were bowled out for 137 runs, Raza's spell restricted Hong Kong to 110. Raza also rescued UAE from a batting collapse when his team's middle order batting fell apart. Batting at No 7, Raza hit 21 runs to emerge as the second highest scorer after opener Mohammad Iqbal's knock of 42 runs.

"I was introduced immediately after the field restrictions by my skipper Khurram Khan, who showed great faith in me. I am delighted to have chipped in with the bat and ball to help my team win," Raza told Gulf News.

Raza generated good turn from the new Al Dhaid wicket. "The wicket suited my bowling and I was keen to perform. I am thankful for being selected after a gap of one and half years and the guidance from coach Collin Wells for this comeback performance," added Raza, who also took two crucial wickets to help the UAE beat Singapore in the first match.

The UAE got off to a bad start losing Amjad Javed, their hero of the first match with a breezy knock of 115 runs against Singapore. He was run out for three runs while one-down batsman Amjad Ali fell for one run. Khurram Khan and opener Iqbal put on a 50 runs partnership for the third wicket. Nadeem Ahmad of Hong Kong dismissed Khan for 16 and Iqbal for 42, which contained five fours and two sixes. Raza hit an invaluable 21 when wickets fell. Hong Kong began their chase very well with opener Wasim Butt hitting 37 runs and was 58 for 2 at one stage when Raza took four wickets from his four overs.

Summarised scores

In Al Dhaid: UAE bt Hong Kong by 27 runs. UAE 137 (Mohammad Iqbal 42, Ahmad Raza 21, Irfan Ahmad 2 for 30, Nadeem Ahmad 2 for 29, Moner Ahmad 2 for 13) Hong Kong 110 (Hussain Butt 37, Ahmad Raza 4 for 8, Mohammad Tauqir 2 for 21). Man of the match: Ahmad Raza.

Kuwait bt Qatar by 65 runs: Kuwait: 195 for 5 (K. Butt 25, Y. Idris 26, H. Mirza 28, S. Khalid 53n.o; R. Ali 2 for 29) Qatar: 130 in 17.5 overs (H. Rada 24, R. Ali 25, S. Ahmad 29; K. Butt 2 for 28) Man of the Match: Azmatullah Mohammad.

In Abu Dhabi: Saudi Arabia bt Hong Kong by one wicket. Hong Kong: 132 for 6 (R. Lamsam 53, I. Ahmad 28; H. Saeed 2 for 19, S. Ali 2 for 29). Saudi Arabia: 135 for 9 off 19.3 overs (S.Ali 29, H.Anwar 21; N.Ahmad 2 for 25; I.Ahmad 2 for 24; M. Ahmad 2 for 28) Man of the Match: Shoaib Ali (Saudi Arabia)

In Sharjah: Malaysia bt Nepal by six wickets: Nepal: 112 for 7 (M. Alam 31, G. Malla 22; N. Arifin 2 for 24, E. Azis 2 for 20, D. Muthuraman 2 for 17) Malaysia: 113 for 4 off 17.2 overs (R. Madhavan 30, T. Kodikara 20, A. Faiz 40n.o).