Mohammad Shahzad, left, single-handedly took Afghanistan home in chasing down a stiff 165-run target. Ian MacNicol / Getty Images
Mohammad Shahzad, left, single-handedly took Afghanistan home in chasing down a stiff 165-run target. Ian MacNicol / Getty Images
Mohammad Shahzad, left, single-handedly took Afghanistan home in chasing down a stiff 165-run target. Ian MacNicol / Getty Images
Mohammad Shahzad, left, single-handedly took Afghanistan home in chasing down a stiff 165-run target. Ian MacNicol / Getty Images

Fielding and bowling let UAE down as Shahzad takes Afghanistan home


Amith Passela
  • English
  • Arabic

The UAE went down to Afghanistan by eight wickets with 16 balls to spare to record their second defeat in the World T20 Qualifier tournament at the Grange in Edinburgh yesterday.

The Afghanistan wicketkeeper-opener Mohammed Shahzad set the platform for Afghanistan with a blistering 37-ball 74 and left his captain Asghar Stanikzai (44) and Samiullah Shenwari (30) to take them over the line with an unfinished 69-run stand for the third wicket.

Mohammed Tauqir, the UAE captain, who slammed the “irresponsible batting” in their defeat to Scotland on Thursday, blamed “poor bowling and fielding” for this loss in which several catches were put down.

“It is a disappointing result for us because 160 was par on this wicket,” said the Emirati off-spinner.

“We did not bowl and field well. Afghanistan are a good side. We could have defended the score had we bowled in the right areas supported by the fielding. We need to look into our shortcomings.”

The UAE play the Netherlands next on Sunday, followed by matches against Canada, Kenya, and Oman in Group B.

The UAE could have put up a score in excess of their 164 for six after the start by openers Faizan Asif and Mohammed Shahzad.

Shahzad smashed a 28-ball 43 and Asif 28 off 19 to share a 63-run stand in 6.5 overs before the latter was caught at cover. Shaiman Anwar then chipped in a 25-ball 35.

The UAE’s good start was put in the shade by the power hitting of Afghanistan’s Shahzad, who won the man of the match award.

“The pitch was very good for batting,” he said.

“We had a plan for chasing these runs. Yesterday also we chased against Netherlands. No problem for us. I was waiting for the loose ball.”

apassela@thenational.ae

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Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Rating: 4/5
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?

The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.

Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.

New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.

“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.

The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.

The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.

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From 5.30pm in the following order:

Featherweight

Marcelo Pontes (BRA) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)

Catchweight 90kg

Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) v Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)

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Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR) v Gimbat Ismailov (RUS)

Flyweight (women)

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Alexandru Chitoran (BEL) v Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)

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Mohamed Ali (EGY) v Marc Vleiger (NED)

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James Bishop (AUS) v Mark Valerio (PHI)

Welterweight

Gerson Carvalho (BRA) v Abdelghani Saber (EGY)

Middleweight 

Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) v Igor Litoshik (BLR)

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Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magemedsultanov (RUS)

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Barcelona v Real Madrid, 11pm UAE

Match is on BeIN Sports

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Date of birth: April 18, 1998

Playing position: Winger

Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda

if you go

The flights

Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes. 

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Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes. 

When to visit

March-May and September-November

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