DUBAI // The UAE's World Twenty20 dream ended in tatters yesterday when they were beaten by Afghanistan with just three balls to spare.
And while the hosts were left downhearted Kabir Khan, the Afghanistan coach, warned that his side were ready to shock the top teams in world cricket.
The four-wicket victory at Dubai Sport City sealed Afghanistan's place in the World Twenty20, cric-ket's most-watched global event, to be staged in the West Indies from the end of April.
And Kabir said: "We shouldn't go there just to participate, we should be confident that we can show something special, to show we haven't come just to be a practice team for them.
"We want to give them a hard time, and if we can cause an upset or two, that will be great.
"In 20 over cricket, it is anybody's game. We can win against any team."
Taj Malik Khan, the assistant coach who has been with the side since they first played international matches in 2001, said much needs to be done to get his players up to speed.
"We will train against bowling machines, and set the bowling at 145kph or 150kph," he said.
pradley@thenational.ae
Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.