Fahad Tariq pleased with contribution despite UAE defeat

Denzil Pinto 09:42 29/11/2015
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  • The Lions match followed the UAE's friendly with England (above).

    Fahad Tariq’s half-century went in vain as the UAE fell to an eight-run loss to England Lions in their T20 practice match on Saturday.

    Electing to bat first at the ICC Academy in Dubai, England were all out for 127 as Zaheer Maqsood and Farhan Ahmed claimed three wickets each.

    In response, Tariq was in exceptional form with the bat. The Interface opener struck 52 from his 35 balls in a knock which included six boundaries.

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    His innings was more remarkable given that UAE both lost Mohammad Kareem (4) and Rameez Shahzad (0) early in their chase.

    Despite wickets falling, Tariq continued to showcase his batting skills before being dismissed by Tymal Mills.

    With central contracts set to come into place, Tariq has hoped he has done enough to impress UAE coach Aaqib Javed and the selectors but knows he needs to up his game.

    “I’m very pleased to have scored a half-century for the UAE and that being against a strong England Lions side,” said the 25-year-old.

    “It’s definitely a great feeling but a bit disappointed that I couldn’t finish my innings. It’s always important to play well and try to finish the game off as well.

    “Hopefully I can make that happen when we play our next game against England Lions on Tuesday.

    “Without a doubt England Lions are a tough side. We did quite well to restrict them but we just fell short. It was a great opportunity to come up against these players as this performance will give us a lot of confidence going forward.”

    He was by far the standout batsman for the UAE with Ahmed Shauqat hitting three boundaries in his 17 deliveries as the hosts posted 119-8.

    Earlier, after Lions’ Daniel Bell-Drummond was dismissed, David Malan top-scored with 33 and put on a 51-run stand for the second wicket with Tom Westley (30).

    But the UAE rattled back with wickets from Maqsood (3-34) and Ahmed (3-24). And after being in a dominant position at 100-5, Lions lost their remaining wickets for 27 runs as Mohammad Ayaz, Zahoor Farooq and Imran Haider (two) claimed the remaining scalps.

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