"It was the best knock of my career," said UAE's opener Arshad Ali, who scored a brilliant century for the team in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Trophy super league in Toronto.
Ali hit a stroke-filled 102 (114b, 13x4) to help UAE overcome Ireland's whopping total of 283 for 7 on Tuesday, thus strengthening UAE's chances of qualifying for the World Cup.

"I am pleased with the knock mainly because the conditions were difficult. We were chasing a huge total. It is also a great feeling to get a century in an international tournament," added an elated Ali, who clinched a place in the national team with six consecutive centuries in the 'A' division local matches this year.

"The wicket was very green and moved a lot in the beginning. Babar Malik and I decided to go for the shots. Though the Ireland spinners bowled well, I did not allow them to dominate. As we had lost a few matches in the early part of the tournament, I wanted to make sure that we did not lose this match," he said.

Arshad, who scored only one run in the first match against Holland and was run out for a duck
in the second match against Singapore, lost his place for the next two matches. Ali came back into the side with a superb unbeaten 78 against Fiji.

In the play off match against Uganda, though he got only two runs, Ali hit a quick 27 against
the U.S. before being run out again.

"It was disappointing for me to get run out twice in the tournament. Also, I had to sit out for two matches. However, after I scored 78 against Fiji, I regained my confidence. Having got run out twice before, I decided to be extra careful against Ireland. I am happy that I could get a century. I want to score more in the next matches and am happy with my form," he added.

Born in Sialkot in Pakistan, Ali plays for the Expats Cricket Club in Dubai. "I thank Bukhatir, Mazhar Khan and B.S. Shetty for giving me the opportunity to play cricket and thus get selected to play in an international tournament," he said.

Ali likes to bat like his model, Sachin Tendulkar. He has torn apart some of the best bowling attack in domestic cricket, and scored nearly 1500 runs from 14 matches this season. He won the best batsman award in the Easy Line, NMC and Emirates Cup this year.

Ali also thanked UAE'S coach Naveed Anjum. "He helped me a lot during this tour. He advised me to go for my shots and not to restrain them. In fact, this advice helped me a lot in the match against Ireland and I went for my shots without hesitation. I also ran my singles very well and it was a very pleasing knock. It was nice to win the match especially when the odds were against us and we had to chase a huge total. I am looking forward for more centuries and help UAE qualify for the World Cup," he said.