The UAE kept alive their hopes of making it to the last four of the Asia Cup with a comprehensive win over Oman in Abu Dhabi.
The national team bounced back from their opening day humbling at the hands of India with a 42-run win over their Gulf neighbours at Zayed Cricket Stadium.
They now have a day’s rest before the seminal fixture of Group A. If they can create a shock and beat Pakistan at Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday, they would advance to the Super Four phase at the expense of Salman Agha’s side.
That would set up a reprisal of their opening game against India. It would also help defuse simmering tensions created at the end of the Pakistan-India game on Sunday night, when Suryakumar Yadav and his side refused to shake hands with their counterparts.
As the recriminations from that continued to be felt up the E11 in Dubai, where Pakistan’s board were lobbying for the removal of match referee Andy Pycroft because of the issue, UAE and Oman were returning to action.
In the days leading up to the tournament, the matches were scheduled from 6pm starts – as had been originally planned – to 6.30pm, with the heat of late UAE summer being the reason given.
Somehow, the only game with a 4pm start – which coincidentally is likely to attract the fewest viewers to the TV broadcast – was retained.
It meant the opposing captains, Jatinder Singh of Oman and the UAE’s Muhammad Waseem, were out in the middle at 3.30pm for the toss.
After being invited to bat first, the UAE’s openers knew they would have to deal with searing heat, as well as an Oman attack with whom they are perhaps surprisingly unfamiliar.
The two sides have played plenty of cricket against each other over the past decade. But the Oman side had been overhauled in recent times after a pay dispute saw many of their most established players leave the country.
Still sore from being fired out for their lowest T20 international total, by India, a few days earlier, Waseem and Alishan Sharafu, his opening partner, appeared intent on showing the wider viewing public they can actually play.
They did so in fine fashion. Sharafu was the aggressor at first.
Playing at a ground where he has made his name playing for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the International League T20, the 22-year-old opener hit a sparkling half century. His 38-ball 51 included seven fours and a six.
Once he went, Waseem picked up the slack. It is a marker of the size of the Zayed Cricket Stadium playing field that, in his 54-ball stay, the UAE captain only hit three sixes.
His power is well known: only Rohit Sharma has hit more sixes than Waseem in T20I history. What is less appreciated is his fitness. His innings of 69 required plenty of aerobic energy.
It was also the foundation for victory for the UAE. With the platform he laid, complemented by quick runs late on by Mohammed Zohaib and Harshit Kaushik, the hosts were able to post 172-5.
They would have been confident of defending that against most sides, but especially so once they reduced the new-look Oman line up to 32-4 within the powerplay.
Junaid Siddique and Mohammed Rohid, their new-ball duo, took three of those between them. The fourth fell to Haider Ali, the left-arm spinner who was outstanding again. He finished his four overs with 2-22.
Oman were incapable of recovering. Mohammed Jawadullah, back into the side after missing out against India, took two wickets, while Siddique hastened the hosts over the winning line as he finished with 4-23.
Fittingly, it was Waseem who sealed the win, running round from mid-off to swoop for a direct hit run out that saw Oman bowled out for 130.
