NELSON, New Zealand — A cool and composed Sean Williams denied the UAE a dream start in the 2015 World Cup as Zimbabwe got their act together in time and win the match at Saxton Oval by four wickets.
UAE did very well to post 285 for seven after being put in to bat, and then had Zimbabwe in all kinds of trouble when they dismissed the top half for 167 runs in the 33rd over.
But Man-of-the-Match Williams (76 not out in 65 balls, 1×6, 7×4) then played sensible cricket and added 83 for the sixth wicket with Craig Ervine, before captain Elton Chigumbura joined him and they reached the target with exactly two overs to spare.
Fast bowlers Mohammed Naveed and Amjad Javed, who were earlier involved in a rollicking opening stand of 53, bowled well but were guilty of giving away as many as 13 wides in between them. That kept taking the pressure off the Zimbabwe batsmen.
UAE captain Mohammad Tauqir took two wickets for 51 runs and was the most successful bowler. That included the breakthrough at the top of the innings just when Sikandar Raza and Regis Chakbva were threatening to accelerate after putting on 64 runs for the first wicket.
Williams’ innings was the real difference. The 28-year-old batsman’s 18th ODI half century was brilliantly paced. He never looked in any trouble, and he never took any unwarranted risks.
Earlier, it was a very good batting effort from the UAE, but one just got the feeling that they could have done at least 25-30 odd runs better than their eventual score of 285 for seven in 50 overs.
That score was made possible by several good knocks, including a quickfire innings of 67 in 59 balls by Shaiman Anwar, and a partnership of 82 runs for the third wicket between Khurram Khan (45 in 55b) and Krishna Chandran Karate (34 in 63b).
But the real impetus came in the form of the eighth-wicket unbroken partnership of 53 runs in the last six overs by Javed (25no) and Naveed (23 no).
And yet, there were a couple of things that the UAE batsmen will have to focus on when they play their next few matches. One, the batsmen cannot just give away their wickets after getting their eyes in and scoring 30-plus runs.
Apart from Khurram, who hit a good square cut only to be caught at point by a diving Williams, others just gifted their wickets away
Andri Berenger (22) was ruffled by a couple of short-pitched deliveries, one of which smashed into his gloves, and he then lost his cool and tried to hook Solomon Mire, only to edge it to the ‘keeper.
Karate showed immense patience, but a wild slog off Mire ended in an easy catch to captain Chigumbura.
Anwar can’t be blamed for his dismissal, because that’s the way be plays. And aggressive batsman who struck nine fours and a six, tried to clear the long boundary but holed on to Erwine at mid-on.
The other thing that went against UAE was that they could not make much use of the Powerplay in the first 10 overs, losing one wicket (Amjad Ali) and making just 34 runs. In contrast, Zimbabwe made 55 in their first 10 overs.
UAE’s next match is against Ireland at The Gabba in Brisbane on Wednesday, February 25, while Zimbabwe will take on West Indies the day before in Canberra.
