ABU DHABI // There are still four days left to run in the inaugural Desert T20. And yet Afghanistan’s players saw it fit to do a mini-lap of honour after they claimed a thrilling five-wicket win over the UAE in the capital on Monday.
It felt fully justified, too. The Afghans had required 20 to win off the final two overs. They did it with an over to spare, so savage were they on the beleaguered bowler Mohammed Shahzad.
When Najibullah Zadran hit a six over extra cover, one-handed while slipping over, the game was up for the UAE.
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It sent a packed crowd into raptures. Some threw their headscarves or hats into the air. Some played pipes, some played drums. Others danced a jig. Several thousand proudly waved their green, black and red Afghan tricolours.
It means the top-ranked side in the competition are two from two. The UAE, meanwhile, will likely have to do something they have managed just once in the past 15 years – beat Ireland – in their final pool match if they are to advance to Friday’s play-offs.
The Desert T20 may have only been a late addition to the winter cricket schedule, but it has been well received so far — at least when Afghanistan have played.
In excess of 5,000 came to watch their opening game, an easy win against Ireland. For this fixture, crowds flocked across the desert to the Zayed Cricket Stadium. So much so that the gates at the northern end of the ground had to be opened for the first time this week.
The atmosphere the throng created was easily a match for anything during the series of matches between Pakistan against West Indies earlier this winter.
The Afghans have dominated the UAE in the recent past. They beat them three times just last month, but they did not have it all their own way.
Shaiman Anwar’s 52 was his fourth half-century in successive innings, and three of those have been against Afghanistan. The UAE will be grateful for such consistency, but it felt at times like he went too slowly here.
He has also had some great fortune since the Desert T20 started. He was dropped twice in successive balls midway through his decisive innings against Namibia on Sunday.
The theme continued against the Afghans when he was caught off a no ball off Dawlat Zadran on 12. Mohammed Nabi technically put him down on 29, although in truth that was smart work preventing six on the long on boundary. Nabi, though, did drop a sitter when Shaiman was on 45.
That spoke of a general sloppiness in Afghanistan’s fielding. Although the UAE’s eventual tally of 146 for seven felt short of what it might have been when Rohan Mustafa fired them to 58 for one in 5.2 overs, Afghanistan could definitely have limited it further.
Rashid Khan was the star with the ball again. The leg spinner leaked just 12 from his four overs, and picked up the wickets of Rameez Shahzad and Mohammed Usman.
UAE’s own spinners, Ahmed Raza and Imran Haider, were also outstanding in return. But a late-overs assault by Samiullah Shenwari and Karim Janat saw the Afghans home.
pradley@thenational.ae
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