UAE tinker in latest win over Afghanistan

The sixth game, was one of two wins that now count towards qualification for the 2015 World Cup.

The UAE’s Vikrant Shetty was bowled by Afghanistan’s Samiullah Shenwari.

SHARJAH // A stunning, diving catch by Faizan Asif, the new UAE opening batsman, provided the gloss for a sparkling week's work for the national cricket team last night.

The burly batsman is an unlikely looking fielder at the best of times. However, propelled by the self-belief which is pulsing through the team, he dived to scoop up a catch on the long-on boundary to all but seal a second win over Afghanistan in the space of three nights.

From the moment they won the toss and opted to bat, victory had appeared to be a given for the thriving national team.

The Afghans seemed consigned to their fate from the outset, which is perhaps understandable, given the way they have been dominated by the UAE for five-and-a-half of the six days in this series.

It has been a valuable one for the national team, not least because they are the nominal away side.

The Afghans have been granted permission to use the Sharjah Cricket Stadium as their home ground, but it has been the UAE who have benefited most from local knowledge.

First, they took the majority of the points on offer in the four-day Intercontinental Cup match, then followed up with two wins that now count towards qualification for the 2015 World Cup.

The fact the teams played all six days on the same wicket meant last night's toss was an important one to win, but in truth they really did not to get out of second gear.

Indeed, their performance was a largely experimental one. The UAE have so many all-rounders, they have plenty of scope for flexibility.

In the four-day match, Arshad Ali opened the batting, but ended up taking nine wickets. Amjad Javed, meanwhile, top-scored in the first innings then, even though he came in at No 9.

So this time, the national team swapped everything around. Javed went in to open the innings, and Arshad batted No 9 instead. There was all sorts of tinkering elsewhere in the order, too.

Despite the changes, some things remained the same. One constant has always been Khurram Khan. The UAE captain is the rock around which all the other batsmen play, and he top-scored again here.

He has been in such a rich seam of form of late that his innings of 43 last night, on a testing pitch, seemed modest by comparison.

Chasing 222 to win on a worn pitch, against the UAE's canny spin attack, was never going to be an easy task, even for a side of such big hitters as Afghanistan.

They ended 69 runs short, with Khurram taking three wickets, and Shadeep Silva, Vikrant Shetty and Ahmed Raza each taking two apiece.

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