UAE one step away from place in Asia Cup T20
Shahzad and Naveed tame Hong Kong for six-wicket victory
dubai — The UAE got a step closer to playing in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh which begins immediately after the qualifying tournament they are engaged in now, in the same country.
Two days ago, the UAE began their campaign in earnest with a hard fought victory over favourites Afghanistan by 16 runs, and on Sunday, they gathered more steam before inflicting a six-wicket defeat on Hong Kong, the islanders’ second straight loss.
Inspired mainly by right arm medium pacer Mohammad Naveed (314) and a masterly half ton by number three bat, Mohammad Shahzad (52 from 39 balls with four 4s and one 6) against Hong Kong, the UAE with two wins in the four-team qualification race, have one league match left, against T20 World Cup qualifiers Oman, on Monday (today). Only the winner of the qualify- ing league will be eligible to play in the main Asia Cup tournament which begins on February 24. Hong Kong’s hopes of qualifying have vanished totally in the current single round robin league.
Skipper and allrounder Amjad Javed who claimed two wickets for 21, had the satisfaction of closing the chapter against Hong Kong on Sunday with a finely timed straight six. “We came to Bangladesh with one aim of keeping everything as simple as possible. Now the road has been laid out for us with the second straight victory inside three days,” Javed told Khaleej Times over the phone from Fatullah.
“I have already cautioned the members of not trying to think of the position if the averages issue comes up tomorrow (Monday). Just told them to go out confidently as ever and finish the qualifying subject simple and straight by crossing one more hurdle, this time against Oman who did well in the qualifiers for the T20 World Cup.”
“We have played quite sensibly so far with this young new look side with little international exposure and should be able to continue the form. The weather conditions here are almost like back in the UAE, so we are quite at home,” he added.
The UAE overcame plucky Hong Kong with nine balls to spare and in the process ensured their net run rate received a boost, a factor that could decide the qualifier if a three-way tie arises after Monday’s fixtures.
Hong Kong found things going against the tide at 26-2 after they opted to bat. It took another top of the order performance by the in- form Babar Hayat who hit 54 from 54 balls and Mark Chapman’s 29 runs off just 17 balls to bring back the momentum the islanders initially set course on.
Hayat, who made 122 in vain in the opener against Oman, hit eight fours before being dismissed in the 16th over. The UAE came back brilliantly to concede just 24 in the last five overs of the islanders’ innings as Naveed bowled a superb line and length.
Hong Kong struck back early in UAE’s innings by dismissing first innings hero Rohan Mustafa and Muhammad Kaleem to leave the UAE with hiccups on 22-2. Shahzad corrected the starting problems by steering the UAE well and was engaged in a third-wicket stand of 79 with Muhammad Usman (41).
Almost single handedly Shahzad took up the challenge till the late stages when Shaiman Anwar (25 from 18) came to keep him company.