Asia Cup: Regional supremacy on the line as UAE take on Oman

Indian and Pakistani expats in the UAE were out in full force to cheer their teams on during the high-voltage Asia Cup clash in Dubai yesterday. While the Indian expats earned the bragging rights on this occasion, a more proficient set of Indian and Pakistani expats will line up today, on the cricket field, as their teams vie for regional supremacy under the sun in Abu Dhabi.

In the first match of a double-header, UAE and Oman, friendly neighbours off the pitch, will be throwing everything at each other for their only probable chance to win a match in this tournament. It will be their 11th meeting in T20s, with UAE leading 6-4.

This will be followed by another encounter in Dubai featuring a side with more players from the Indian subcontinent. Hong Kong, a team mostly made up of Indian and Pakistani expats, will play their last match in Dubai against Sri Lanka, who are coming off a commanding win against Bangladesh, while the Far East Asians have lost both their opening matches.

For all practical purposes, Sri Lanka are the only team among the four in fray today who have a lot to play for. They are behind Afghanistan on net run rate and will be looking to make short work of their opponents to ensure their net run rate is right up there in case all three teams – Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – finish on 4 points each in this ‘Group of Death’. The Islanders have looked good against Bangladesh in their previous match and should have little problem in dispatching Hong Kong, thereby making tomorrow’s encounter between Afghanistan and Bangladesh a critical one for both sides.

The regional rivals, UAE and Oman will cross swords under the Abu Dhabi sun for the only day/night match of this Asia Cup. It should be an interesting contest given both teams have lost their opening matches by big margins and will be looking to redeem themselves. As far as records go, UAE skipper Muhammad Waseem towers over the rest in encounters between the two sides, amassing 403 runs in six matches, at an average of 67.16 and a strike rate of 179.11 with one hundred to his name.

Expect an intense match, with UAE having an edge, and not least because of home support.