Afghan hero Shenwari a star in UAE AGGRESSIVE BATSMAN SHOWS FORM ON BIGGEST STAGE WITH 96 IN WIN OVER SCOTLAND
Afghanistan hero Samiullah Shenwari, who cracked 96 against Scotland yesterday to help his team to their first ever World Cup win, is a regular on the UAE domestic circuit.
Many UAE clubs to have played against him have faced the severity of his aggressive batting. In the Kerala Premier League, for example, he once hit an unbeaten 53 off just 15 balls for Trotters Wayanad Highlanders against Pathanamthitta Rajas.
On Wednesday it was Scotland who bore the brunt of Shenwari’s brilliance at the University Oval ground in Dunedin, when he scored 96 with five sixes and seven boundaries as Afghanistan recorded a nervy one-wicket victory.
He was forced to play carefully early in his innings before breaking the shackles, but he got out wanting to hit a six to get his century.
“We lost five wickets early and so I had the responsibility to stay there till the end,” Shenwari said.
“It was a poor shot. I was trying to get a six but I’m happy we have won the match. We are now looking forward to more wins and getting into the quarter-finals.
“When we won, we all shouted. It was very big shout and so the coach came and calmed us down, reminding us that it is just one match and there are still two more matches to win to get through.”
Neeraj Ramamoorthy, captain and owner of Trotters Wayanad, told Gulf News : “Samiullah has always been a match-winner for us. He has not only played in the KPL but also the Blenheim Cup. He has played in 50-odd matches for us.”
Learning experience
Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi, who also plays in the UAE, hailed Shenwari’s knock, saying: “The pressure was too high. The top order didn’t bat well. Four, five wickets went early but Sami [Shenwari] played very well. It was a good learning experience about handling the pressure and for our upcoming games.”
Shenwari, who plays alongside the UAE’s century hero Shaiman Anwar at Wayanad, added: “We are looking forward to the next match with Australia and we will give them a tough time. We will not give up easily.”
Afghanistan, appearing in their first World Cup, looked anything but likely winners as they slumped to 97 for seven in pursuit of a modest victory target of 211.
But Shenwari had other ideas as the 28-year-old’s breathtaking innings took his side to the brink of a sensational victory.
When he holed out off spinner Majid Haq, Afghanistan still needed 19 off as many balls with just one wicket standing. But the last-wicket duo of Hamid Hassan (15no) and Shapoor Zadran (12no) held their nerve, with Shapoor looking anything but a No. 11 as he struck the winning boundary off Iain Wardlaw three balls into the last over.
Shapoor, who had earlier excelled with the ball, fell face down on the ground with relief after seeing Afghanistan home as the gutted Scots looked on.
This result, following Ireland’s exciting win over the UAE on Wednesday, meant the four non-Test nations taking part had produced the two most exciting finishes of this World Cup — an ideal riposte to the International Cricket Council’s proposal to reduce the number of teams involved in the 2019 edition in England from 14 to 10.
For Scotland, now appearing in their third World Cup, the wait for a win goes on after they looked certain to break their duck in Dunedin — the Gaelic name for Edinburgh. The Scots were all out for 210 off the final ball of their allotted 50 overs after losing the toss and being sent into bat in this Pool A clash.