17 August 2006
SAUDIS PUSH UAE TO THE LIMIT
Saudi Arabia v UAE at Bayuemas Oval
UAE WON BY THREE WICKETS
UAE withstood a strong challenge from Saudi Arabia to clinch their
quarter-final place, winning at Bayuemas by three wickets.
Losing opener Shahbaz Aslam to the first ball he faced, a yorker
from Javed Ismail, and partner Nadeem Babar soon after, Hammad Saeed
and Suhrab Kilsingatakam set about asserting themselves with some
forthright batting. Saeed, one of those batsmen who doesn’t
see the need to score ones and twos when he finds boundaries so reachable
played some thumping stokes. Javed Ismail suffered terribly but all
the bowlers, with the exception of Ali Asad, came under the hammer.
74 of Saeed’s runs came in boundaries (eight 4s and seven 6s)
and when he was bowled, attempting to hoist Khurram Khan into orbit,
he had faced just 77 deliveries for his 101.
Saeed had actually overshadowed his partner Suhrab for the duration
of their 130-run partnership but Suhrab (63) stayed positive and
with Sarfraz Ahmed (60) kept the run-rate climbing. Mohammed Farooq
made a whirlwind 30 at the end, to take Saudi Arabia to 298.
Going into bat facing a total higher than anything they’d
ever encountered in all their years in the ACC Trophy, the UAE were
not unduly concerned. The wicket was good, the outfield was fast
and they had class batsmen all the way down the order.
The UAE openers put on 83 in 10 overs before the first wicket fell.
At 168 for 2 in the 23rd over, they were cruising to victory.
Some lapses in concentration and an appalling mix-up between Saqib
Ali and Khurram Khan had the Emirates team 171 for 5 and the momentum
swinging Saudi Arabia’s way. I was a little concerned at this
stage, that’s for sure” said UAE coach Chandika Hathurusinghe
after the match. Had it not been for the way the Saudi bowlers always
managed to deflate their impetus with a wide (they bowled 32 in total)
they could have really turned the screws on the batsmen.
Even at 222 for 7 after 33 overs, the Emirates weren’t out
of the woods but as long as Saqib Ali was there, they were the team
most likely to win. Saqib is new to the team, having made his debut
during the recent Eurasia A Series but he has an undefeated double-hundred
in first class cricket to his name. There was really nothing that
a tiring attack and fallible fielders could do to stop him scoring
at will and together with fellow pedigree cricketer, Shadeep Silva,
he saw his team home in the 47th over. Saqib finished undefeated
on 132.
GROUP A:
Saudi Arabia v UAE at Bayuemas Oval
Toss: U.A.E.
UAE WON BY THREE WICKETS
Saudi Arabia: 298 all out in 50 overs (H. Saeed 101, Suhrab K. 63,
S. Ahmed 60, M. Farooq 30)
UAE: 299 for 7 in 46.2 overs (M. Iqbal 51, S. Ali 135*)
Man of the Match: Saqib Ali (UAE)
Points: UAE 2, Saudi Arabia 0
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