Dubai: Haider Ali was put to the sword as Afghanistan struggled for a hard-fought five-wicket win over UAE in Group D of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Delhi on Monday. Afghanistan had chased down 161 with four balls to spare.
After being set 161, Afghanistan recovered from the early loss of Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Gulbadin Naib and Ibrahim Zadran put on 40 for the second wicket to stabilise the innings. Zadran attacked Haider Ali in the fourth over, hitting four boundaries on his way to 18 off as many balls.
Sediqullah Atal then shared a 30-run third-wicket stand with Zadran, before he was dismissed by Jawadullah for 16 off 14 balls. Zadran brought up a fine half-century before falling a short while later after scoring 53 from 41 balls that featured six fours and one six.
Darwish Rasooli chipped in with an important 33 off 23 balls, including four boundaries, as he put on 43 runs for the fifth wicket with Azmatullah Omarzai. With 52 needed from the last five, Omarzai upped gears, first consolidating with Rasooli and then taking control at the death.
Omarzai not out 40 from 21 balls, with two fours and three sixes, struck the winning boundary on the second ball of the final over. He had previously produced an excellent 4 for 15 to turn in a crucial all round performance in Afghanistan’s first win of the tournament.
Opting to bat, the UAE scored 160 for 9 in their 20 overs. Alishan Sharafu’s 40 from 31 and Sohaib Khan’s 68 off 48 ensured the UAE had a platform to build on. Omarzai was the pick of the bowlers as he went for only 15 runs in his four over spell to take four wickets, with Mujeeb ur Rahman taking two. Captain Rashid Khan picked up one, becoming the first man in history to 700 T20 scalps.
Afghanistan finish the group stage against Canada on Thursday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai and UAE take on South Africa in New Delhi on Wednesday.