Yodhin Punja and Ahsan Ali applied a bright finish to an otherwise bleak week for UAE cricket as they set up a consolation win over Kuwait in the ACC Under 19 Premier League.
The new-ball pair took five wickets apiece as the national team rolled their Gulf rivals for a measly total of 60 all out to set up an eight-wicket success.
The UAE players will have been glad to have been on the right end of such a humbling, having been bowled out for similarly minuscule scores themselves in the previous two games.
It has been a difficult campaign in Kuala Lumpur for the country’s leading age-group players.
Defeats against Afghanistan, Nepal and Malaysia consigned them to a fourth-place finish in the six-team league. As such, they missed out on qualification for the Asia Cup.
Given the recent troubles of the senior national team, the poor return by the age-group team is a worry, but at least Punja and Ali have gained some credit.
Despite their age, both have trained with the senior team in the past and their respective figures against Kuwait were eye-catching.
Punja, from Abu Dhabi, took five for 38, while Ali, who is from Sharjah, picked up five for 10 from his 8.1 overs.
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