Dawlat, Shenwari star in Afghanistan win over UAE
Oman and Afghanistan clinched victories over Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates respectively on the third day of the Desert T20 Challenge tournament, on Monday (January 16), in matches played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Hong Kong v Oman
A combined effort with the ball followed by Aqib Ilyas's breezy half-century led Oman to a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Hong Kong in the earlier match of the day.
After asking Hong Kong to bat, Bilal Khan, the right-arm medium pacer, made sure Oman got off to a great start when he accounted for the experienced Nizakat Khan in the first over. Aizaz Khan (19 in 14 balls), the other opener, did manage to find the fence on four occasions and added 18 runs with Babar Hayat for the second wicket.
But that partnership was Hong Kong’s highest of the match as wickets tumbled all through, and the scoreboard read 46 for 6 inside nine overs. Aizaz finished as the team’s highest scorer as only two other batsmen, Ehsan Khan (10) and Christopher Carter (17), could get to the double-digit mark.
Bilal ended with 3 for 18, while Kaleemullah and Khawar Ali chipped in with a couple of wickets each to dismiss Hong Kong for 87 runs in 18.3 overs.
Chasing a small total, Oman lost Arun Poulose for a duckin the very first over to Nadeem Ahmed but Ilyas, coming in at No. 3, blasted an unbeaten 56 off just 30 deliveries to take his side over the line with nine overs to spare. Ilyas hit ten fours and a six to give Oman its first victory of the tournament in its second match.
Brief scores: Hong Kong 87 in 18.3 overs (Aizaz Khan 19; Bilal Khan 3-18, Kaleemullah 2-23, Khawar Ali 2-12) lost to Oman 89/3 in 11 overs (Aqib Ilyas 56 n.o.) by 7 wickets.
Afghanistan v United Arab Emirates
In the second encounter of the day, a four-wicket haul from Dawlat Zadran and breezy cameos from Samiullah Shenwari and Karim Janat helped Afghanistan beat UAE by five wickets.
After being asked to bat, UAE’s openers Mohammad Shahzad (13 in five) and Rohan Mustafa (29 in 19) started strongly, picking up 17 runs in the first over bowled by Dawlat, before the former was dismissed lbw by Fareed Ahmad.
Flying on the momentum, Mustafa continued to pile up boundaries and added 41 runs in 26 deliveries for the second wicket with Shaiman Anwar, who was more sedate in his approach. Before falling to Dawlat, Mustafa smashed four boundaries and a six to set a platform for the remaining batsmen.
After leaking 91 runs in the first ten overs, Afghanistan managed to apply the brakes by picking up wickets. Dawlat returned to grab three wickets in his last two overs to end with 4 for 44.
Meanwhile, Anwar kept the scoreboard ticking over with a run-a-ball 52 before perishing in the last over, and UAE was restricted to 146 for 7.
Afghanistan's chase started poorly as it lost Mohammad Shahzad and Najeeb Tarakai, the openers, to Ahmed Raza (2-18) and Amjad Javed (1-10) respectively inside 15 deliveries.
But Asghar Stanikzai (30 in 24) and Samiullah Shenwari (42 in 44) mixed aggression with caution to put on 52 runs for the third wicket to bring Afghanistan back on track. But it was once again Raza, who provided the breakthrough for UAE when he knocked Stanikzai over in his second spell.
With the asking rate inching towards the ten-per-over mark, Shenwari upped the ante by striking two sixes to keep his side in contention before being caught behind off Mohammad Shahzad.
That, however, didn't affect Janat (22 in 18) and Najibullah Zadran (11 in five) as they struck 20 runs off Shahzad's 19th over to seal the match for Afghanistan with seven balls remaining to make it two in two for the team.
Brief scores: UAE 146/7 in 20 overs (Rohan Mustafa 29, Shaiman Anwar 52; Dawlat Zadran 4-44, Rashid Khan 2-12) lost to Afghanistan 147/5 in 18.5 overs (Asghar Stanikzai 30, Samiullah Shenwari 42; Ahmed Raza 2-18) by 5 wickets.