Abu Dhabi’s re-emergence as a force in domestic cricket was halted at the last by a Fujairah side laden with international players in the final of the Emirates D20 on Tuesday night.
The side from the capital have struggled to make an impression since domestic cricket was revamped at the end of lockdown in 2020.
In the series of D10 and D20 tournaments to be played since then, they have frequently been among the also rans.
That changed in the latest incarnation of the 20-over competition, as they blazed a trail to the final at the Malek Oval in Ajman.
Their side included just one UAE representative, and even he is a long time out of the national team reckoning.
Fayyaz Ahmed led the way for his side. The 39-year-old Al Ain resident, who played the last of his three ODIs for UAE six years ago, took 18 wickets in the 12 matches played to the final.
His inexperienced Abu Dhabi side pushed a Fujairah outfit which included some of the stars of the national team that is heading to the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.
Muhammad Waseem, Rohan Mustafa and Kashif Daud are the backbone of the UAE team, while Usman Khan has played in the Pakistan Super League.
It was one of Fujairah’s lesser-known players who earned the match award. Harry Bahrwal took four for 12 as they limited Abu Dhabi to 129 for six from their 20 overs.
Uzair Khan played a fine hand in making Abu Dhabi competitive. His 16-ball cameo at the end of the innings brought him three huge sixes and 39 not out in total.
He was also excellent with the ball, taking two for 19 with his fiery left-arm pace, but the winning runs were scored from the fourth ball of his final over.
