ABU DHABI // A little over a day after flying back to the UAE from compassionate leave having spent a week in Pakistan visiting his sick mother, Mohammed Usman struck the winning runs in a thrilling Desert T20 opener for UAE.
As nerves gripped the national team’s batsmen in the final throes of their run chase against Namibia, it was left to Usman to find the one run required to win off the final delivery.
He clipped it confidently straight back over the bowler’s head, to give the UAE a crucial win ahead of today’s match against the top-ranked side in the competition, Afghanistan.
“He hit the last runs for us, he is in this tournament to score runs for us, and I think he is 100 per cent in the right frame of mind,” Amjad Javed, the UAE captain, said of Usman’s late heroics.
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Owais Shah, the caretaker coach of the national team, said Usman’s coollness during the tense finish might have been due to what has happened in the past week.
The 31-year-old batsman missed the final phase of the UAE’s preparations, after his mother was hospitalised back in Lahore. He flew back to Dubai on the eve of the game against Namibia.
“Sometimes things like that put into perspective what you do as a cricketer,” Shah said. “You start looking at things perhaps not as seriously, and you relax a bit more.
“I think he used that to his advantage, and thought, ‘You know what, there is more to life than a game of cricket.’ We are confident he is in a good state of mind, and he showed that at the end.”
The UAE rode their luck in the six-wicket win. Rohan Mustafa and Shaiman Anwar, whose half-centuries underpinned the run-chase, were both afforded chances.
Shaiman, for instance, was dropped twice in the space of two deliveries, on 25 and 26, by the same fielder, Craig Williams at mid-wicket. He made the most of his reprieve, hitting two sixes in the following over to give the UAE run chase an impetus that did not diminish till they were over the line, despite the faltering finish.
Earlier, JP Kotze, the Namibia wicketkeeper, had provided the backbone as his side reached 153 for seven from their 20 overs.
Mohammed Naveed took three wickets for the UAE, while Zahoor Khan took two on debut, as well as sending down some canny death overs.
“At the end, we won the game and that was the most important thing for us,” Amjad said. “In this tournament, they are all big teams, and in T20, all teams are equal.
“My team was confident to win this game, and that was why they batted like that.
“We chased the score in 20 overs, but the best thing was all the batsmen took responsibility, and that is why we won the game.”
The UAE face Afghanistan, who beat Ireland in their first game, at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi at 7pm.
pradley@thenational.ae
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