AL-AMERAT: Pakistan Shaheens defeaed UAE by 74 runs in a virtual quarter-final of the ACC Emerging Team T20 Asia Cup here on Wednesday.
The Shaheens secured victory after restricting the Rahul Chopra-led side to 65-all out in 16.3 overs.
It was a shaky start for UAE, as Mayank Kumar got caught by Pakistan’s skipper when Shahnawaz Dahani delivered the final ball of the first over.
Ayansh Sharma departed soon after making eight runs off 13 deliveries in the third over.
Coming in at two, Tanish Suri (15) and the skipper Chopra (20) scored the most runs.
However, other players, including Dhruv Parashar (1), Syed Haider (12), Basil Hameed (4), Sanchit Sharma (0), Muhammad Farooq (3), and Akif Raja (0) were not able to score enough for the team.
Shaheens, were great with the ball, as Dahani bagged five wickets. Sufiyan Muqeem took two wickets while Ahmed Daniyal, Abbas Afridi, and Arafat Minhas dismissed one player each.
Earlier, Pakistan Shaheens' skipper, Mohammad Haris, led his side from the front by scoring a well-judged 71 off 49 balls to help his side post 179-4 against the UAE.
Haris, who demoted himself in the batting order following back-to-back failures as an opener, smoked six boundaries and three maximums and remained not out till the end.
Omair Bin Yousuf, after Shaheens opted to bat first, opened the innings alongside Yasir Khan.
The first 21 runs of the opening innings were fired by Omair after which he was unlucky to get run-out.
Haris came in and joined Yasir at the crease who then gave confidence to his skipper while hitting a couple of hits out of the park.
Muhammad Farooq, the leggie, cleverly bowled to Yasir who tried to play with the spin but failed to clear the long-on boundary.
UAE skipper Rahul Chopra took a stunning catch running backward which also saw him falling where the back of his head was hit hard on the ground. He was taken off the field for a while.
Meanwhile, Shaheens' skipper went berserk on the opposition bowlers with his traditional cheeky style.
Qasim Akram, who sailed the ship of Shaheens in the match against Oman, managed just 23 runs.
Whereas, Haider, who returned after resting in the previous match, proved his worth this time by scoring 32 off 17 balls including a boundary and three maximums.
UAE’s Muhammad Farooq took three wickets in the first innings.
TOSS
Mohammad Haris, the captain of Pakistan Shaheens, has won the toss and decided to bat first against UAE in a must-win game in the ACC Emerging Team T20 Asia Cup here on Wednesday.
"It is very difficult to play a game where you have to win to qualify. We have momentum from the last game but we need to play good cricket here. Anything above 160 is a good score here," Haris said after winning the toss.
Pakistan made three changes in the playing XI. Abbas Afridi, Haider Ali, and Ahmed Daniyal came in for Zaman Khan, Rohail Nazir and Imran Jr respectively.
PLAYING XI
Pakistan Shaheens: Mohammad Haris (c), Yasir Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Haider Ali, Arafat Minhas, Qasim Akram, Abdul Samad, Shahnawaz Dahani, Abbas Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, and Ahmed Daniyal
UAE: Aryansh Sharma, Mayank Kumar, Tanish Suri, Rahul Chopra (c), Syed Haider, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Sanchit Sharma, Akif Raja, Muhammad Farooq, and Omid Shafi Rahman
