Ahmed Raza thinks first session vital for turnaround possibility against Hong Kong

His side might still be battling to save the game, but at least Ahmed Raza was afforded a little personal cheer on Day 3, as he picked up five for 61.

Ahmed Raza bowled 68 in changing weather conditions and over two innings to help UAE fight back. Lee Hoagland / The National

DUBAI // Ahmed Raza has had much to deal with in his first game as the UAE captain. A sandstorm, a rainstorm, and injuries to both his new-ball bowlers have made for a trying start to life in his new office.

Luckily for UAE cricket, the Sharjah-born spinner has broad enough shoulders to cope. Over the course of two innings against Hong Kong in this Intercontinental Cup tie in Dubai, he bowled 68 overs.

His side might still be battling to save the game, but at least Raza was afforded a little personal cheer on Day 3, as he picked up five for 61.

His fellow slow bowler, off-spinner Nasir Aziz, also has had a hefty workload during the game. He took four for 90 in the second innings.

Dismissing the tourists for 184 meant the UAE require a 382 to win in the fourth innings. Improbable, but not impossible, according to the captain.

“It will all depend how we play out the first session in the morning,” Raza said.

“We think their captain, Tanwir Afzal, who bowled very well in the first innings, is not fit, so you never know.

“But we can’t think too far ahead. If we can get through the first session without losing a wicket, or maximum one, only then we can see if we can chase the game later on.”

Yodhin Punja, the teenage UAE bowler who has missed school to play in this game, made a comeback from his first-innings back injury to bowl in the second.

However, the home team are still the walking wounded. Raja Adeel, on debut, was able to bowl just 2.2 overs second time around due to a bruised heel, and Qais Farooq, the middle-order batsman, limped away from the ground with heavy strapping on his thigh.

Simon Cook, the Hong Kong coach, said a wariness about the fitness of players who are not yet used to playing four-day cricket was partly behind his side’s decision not to enforce the follow on, despite their huge first-innings advantage.

“We are in the box seat, but we have to bowl and field as we did in the first innings,” Cook said.

“Coming from a first-class background, we would have pulled out well before that, and maybe even enforced the follow on, but the fitness levels are not quite the same.

“We had to do things slightly differently and be a little more cautious, but I think we are in a really good position and the boys should be really confident.”

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