Sharafu, Waseem headline UAE's statement win
Siddique took a four-for in the chase where Oman crumbled in the powerplay
Siddique took a four-for in the chase where Oman crumbled in the powerplay
Commentator: Rvel
Alishan Sharafu, Player of the Match: It was quite fun and it was an important game for us, so it was crucial to bring our best today. With a 4pm start, the pitch was playing a bit slow, and the ball wasn't coming onto the bat nicely. We had to use the crease a little, try to make room, step out, and play as straight as I could. I'm glad everything worked out today. The plan was to accelerate in the powerplay and have at least one of us bat as deep as possible. Once I got out, credit goes to the captain for holding it together all the way. We had a lot of fun out there.
Jatinder Singh, Oman Captain: Well, I believe credit goes to the UAE batters--the way they started their innings, they had their plans and executed them well. When we started, we were right on target but I think we lost too many wickets. I feel the team is picking up; we just lack a bit of experience. I think in the coming years, we'll be firing at full throttle. The track was quite placid, especially in the evening. The ball came nicely onto the bat; we knew a good powerplay was important, but that didn't happen. I feel he bowled as per the plan, with a slower one, but I was a bit early in the shot (on his wicket)
Muhammad Waseem, UAE Captain: As I said, the past is past for us. We wanted to show our caliber and the way we want to play and we did that. I'm very happy. We talked in the meeting, prepared three days before, and executed our plans. We wanted to play aggressively in the powerplay, and we did exactly that. It's a very proud moment for me, and I want to continue in the same way, especially marking the milestone of scoring 3,000 runs.
Batting first, UAE went all guns blazing as openers Alishan Sharafu and Muhammad Waseem slammed half-centuries. The UAE captain held the innings together and stayed till the end while Muhammad Zohaib and Harshit Kaushik provided late firepower to post a competitive total. Shakeel Ahmed was impressive as ever, conceding only 16 in his spell, while Jiten Ramanandi picked up two wickets and bowled miserly. However, there wasn't much support from the other bowlers. In response, Oman captain Jatinder Singh came out firing on all cylinders and for a while the chase looked on track. But once he chopped one onto his stumps, wickets fell in a cluster. Ayan Bisht and Vinayak Shukla tried to rebuild, but by then the pressure became suffocating and the asking rate kept climbing. Junaid Siddique bagged four vital scalps while Muhammad Jawadullah and Haider Ali took two wickets apiece and Muhammad Rohid Khan chipped in with one. In the end, it was a well-rounded bowling effort from UAE. Thank you for your company. It's goodbye and goodnight from all of us!
S Shrivastava run out 6 (14m 8b 1x4 0x6) SR: 75
Siddique took a four-for in the chase where Oman crumbled in the powerplay
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