Alishan Sharafu and Muhammad Waseem stole the show as their respective half-centuries powered UAE forward. Alishan Sharafu was the aggressor of the two while Muhammad Waseem played almost through the innings. The others batted around them and helped UAE post 172 which looks like an above par score on this wicket.
Oman toiled hard and got the wickets they wanted towards the end but struggled to break the opening stand. Jiten Ramanandi was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/24 in 4 overs. Hassnain Ali Shah picked up 1/34 in 4 overs while Samay Shrivastava chipped in with 1/38 in 4 overs. In the end, Oman have got a target of 173 to chase.
Alishan Sharafu & Muhammad Waseem give UAE a solid start in powerplayÂ
Put into bat first, Alishan Sharafu and Muhammad Waseem came out to bat for UAE while Shakeel Ahmed had ball in hand for Oman. Shakeel started with a miserly over. Faisal Shah got the ball from the other end. Sharafu broke the shackles and hit the first boundary of the contest by driving him on the up past cover point for a boundary. Shakeel continued and kept things under check.
Sharafu then hit Faisal Shah downtown over mid-on as the ball raced away to the fence. Sharafu hit Faisal Shah again by cutting him behind square as the ball raced away to the fence as the batter had shimmied down the track. Aamir Kaleem came into the attack and was greeted by Muhammad Waseem with a boundary on the up through covers as the long-off ran hard but could not stop the ball. Waseem was in the groove as he hit two more boundaries to Kaleem by first sweeping him over short fine leg and driving past the cover region.
Hassnain Ali Shah came into the attack to bowl the final over of powerplay. Sharafu thrashed Hassnain past cover point for a boundary and hit the next ball again over cover point for another boundary. Sharafu completed a hat-trick of boundaries and sliced it in the gap between cover point and backward point for a boundary. The single off the last ball brought up the 50 for UAE and of the partnership. At the end of the powerplay, UAE were 50/0 in 6 overs and had the platform for a big score now.
Alishan Sharafu falls after scoring 50; Muhammad Waseem completes fifty to take UAE to 116/2 in 15 overs
Jiten Ramanandi came into the attack post the powerplay as Sharafu took him on by planting his front leg and square drove it past backward point for a boundary. Samay Shrivastava came into the attack next as Sharafu launched him over covers for a flat maximum, the first of the day. Muhammad Waseem joined in the fun as he lofted Samay straight down the ground for the maximum. Ramanandi continued and bowled a tidy over.
Shrivastava continued as Muhammad Waseem slogged it high and to the left of deep midwicket as the fielder misjudged it and allowed it to go to the boundary fence. At the end of 10 overs at the halfway stage of the innings, UAE were 83/0 as the players took the Drinks Break.
Muhammad Waseem got a reprieve after the break when on 33 he was dropped by Shakeel Ahmed off the bowling off Jiten Ramanandi with the team score at 85 in the 11th over. Soon, Sharafu brought up his fifty in 37 balls. Jiten eventually got the breakthrough for Oman as he dismissed Sharafu for 51 off 38 balls with 7 fours and a maximum to his name. He bowled it full and straight just angled in towards the off-stump, Sharafu shuffled away from the leg stump to make room and hit through the covers but missed the ball completely as the ball uprooted the off-stump. Asif Khan came out to bat next.
Oman wasted a review against Muhammad Waseem for LBW appeal. Waseem then smashed Hassnain down the ground over the bowler’s head for a boundary at long-on. Shrivastava came back into the attack and removed Asif Khan for 2 off 5 balls. He bowled a short ball pitching outside the off-stump and spinning back in, Asif shuffled across and went back in the crease. He pushed away from the body and got an inside edge that dragged the ball back onto the off-stump. Mohammad Zuhaib Khan came out to bat next.
The 100 came up for UAE in 13.4 overs as Hassnain bowled a decent over. Samay Shrivastava continued as Muhammad Waseem launched him flat batted by bending down on one knee and hitting it over long-off for the maximum as Muhammad Waseem got to his fifty in 41 balls. At the end of 15 overs, UAE were 116/2 and well-placed to get past 160 as we entered the final five overs of the innings.
Late Flourish Takes UAE to 172/5 in 20 overs
Shakeel Ahmed returned for another spell as Zuhaib Khan joined the party as he smoked the bowler down the ground for a boundary to clear long-off. He hit Shakeel again down the ground for the maximum over long-on. Faisal Shah returned as Muhammad Waseem cracked him off the middle of the bat to get it past long-on for a boundary. Ramanandi came to bowl his final over as Zuhaib hit him past extra covers for a boundary.
Ramanandi got his man as he got rid of Zuhaib for 21 off 13 balls with 2 fours and a maximum to his name. Jiten bowled a good length ball outside the off-stump nipping away after pitching, Zuhaib cleared his front leg and threw the kitchen sink across the line. He got it off the toe end of the bat and skied it behind Samay at short third man. He moved slightly outside the 30-yard circle and fell backwards while collecting the ball and held onto it. Harshit Kaushik came out to bat next.
He got off the mark straightaway. Kaushik then took Faisal on and hit him for consecutive sixes back over the bowler’s head and over deep midwicket fence. Kaushik hit another boundary through the vacant third man region for a boundary. Muhammad Waseem then cleared his front leg and launched Hassnain for the maximum down the ground over long-off. Muhammad Waseem was then run out as he tried to comeback for the second run as he fell for 69 off 54 balls with six fours and three sixes to his name. Rahul Chopra came in to bat and got out for a golden duck.
Shah pitched on length and middle stump line and swung hard did the batter and lost the shape and got no timing on it. He lofted it down the ground and picked up Kaleem at long-off who took a very good catch. Dhruv Parashar came in next and got off the mark. The last ball was a dot ball as the review against Kaushik was burnt as UAE ended with 172/5 in 20 overs with Kaushik remaining unbeaten on 19 off 8 balls with one four and 2 sixes to his name while Parashar was unbeaten on 1 off 1 ball. 9 extras given by the fielding side.
Jiten Ramanandi was the pick of the bowlers for Oman with figures of 2/24 in 4 overs. Hassnain Ali Shah chipped in with 1/34 in 4 overs. Samay Shrivastava chipped in with 1/38 in 4 overs. Shakeel Ahmed finished with 0/16 in 3 overs. Faisal Shah finished with 0/45 in 4 overs. Aamir Kaleem bowled an over for 14 runs. This meant that Oman needed 173 runs to win off 20 overs.
What Lies Ahead
UAE have got 172/5 on the board which is an above par score. The pitch is good to bat on, but Oman has to bat out of their skins to win this contest from here. Can they do it? Only time will tell. At this stage, UAE has the upper hand and should win the contest from here.
We shall see how things unfold in the chase as Oman won’t throw in the towel that easily. A good game awaits us for all.
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