Manjula Guruge claimed three wickets as the UAE warmed up for their World Twenty20 qualifying campaign with a Duckworth-Lewis method aided 20-run victory over Nepal.
– #Quiz360: WIN a gym membership at FitRepublik
– Ashes: How the captains shape up ahead of Cardiff
– Asian Town: Qatar’s cricketing oasis for labourers
With the match reduced to 18 overs due to rain in Belfast, Nepal struggled to gain any momentum with the bat and posted 84-7 as Guruge finished with figures of 3-12, who was well supported by Mohammad Shahzad’s two scalps. In reply, the UAE were coasting to their target before rain intervened in the 14th over.
With the score 81-2, no play was possible but that was enough to secure their third straight victory. For Guruge, it was his eighth wicket in three games on the UK tour after claiming five in the World Cricket Championship encounters against Kenya last week.
“It feels great to have taken three wickets especially in the final match before the qualifiers,” said the 34-year-old. “The wicket was very good for fast bowlers and I just played to my strength and bowled a straight line and it paid off.
“It was quite important to get as much match practice as possible and although it wasn’t easy in the damp conditions, we all pulled together and fought for the win.”
And coach Aaqib Javed was equally impressed with the team’s performance. “It was a very good show by us as the players played as a team and delivered an all-round performance,” he said. “It wasn’t easy in the wet conditions as the ball was moving around but the bowlers did exceptionally well.”
Scotland and UAE were the big winners at the morning games in #wt20q http://t.co/bQEZydxLiK pic.twitter.com/BgfLTM8Wnc http://t.co/d4nxSPxuwj
— Cricket Cafe (@CafeCric) July 7, 2015
The UAE travelled to Edinburgh last night as they turn their focus for their World Twenty20 qualifying campaign opener against co-hosts Scotland tomorrow.
“The win will be a great boost to the whole team as it can bring a lot of confidence to the players before we start an important qualifying campaign,” said Guruge.
It was a dominant performance from the UAE as their bowlers proved to be too strong for Nepal. After Mohammad Naveed removed Subash Khakurel (1) inside the first over, the Asian side never really got going as Guruge, Amjad Javed and Shahzad rattled Nepal.
Only Gyanendra Malla (13), Sharad Vesawkar (38) and Pradeep Airee (13) managed double figures. In reply, opener Faizan Asif was unable to replicate his form that earned him two centuries in practice games last week as he fell in the fourth over.
The left-handed batsman found the boundary five times before Jitendra Mukhiya ended his 24-run knock following a catch from Khakurel. Amjad and all-rounder Shahzad put on 31 for the second wicket before Sagar Pun cleanly bowled the latter for 13.
With the score 59-2, Umair Ali continued to pile on the runs, hitting two sixes in his 16-run knock as the team reached 81-2, which eventually sealed victory.
