Shaiman Anwar’s brutal half century and an impressive bowling display from Fayyaz Ahmed helped the UAE defeat Malaysia and secure a second successive victory in the Asian Cricket Council Premier League.
Having lost their opening two games to Nepal and Afghanistan, coach Aaqib Javed had demanded more from his side and has clearly found a response.
After edging past Hong Kong on Sunday it was a far more straight forward victory in Kuala Lumpar just one day later as the UAE chased down a target of 159 in just 25.4 overs.
Opener Amjad Ali continued his impressive form by hitting 43 from 49 balls, while captain Khurram Khan finally managed to make his mark on the tournament as he hit a run-a-ball 37.
But the real fireworks came when Anwar arrived at the crease as the vastly experienced 35-year-old hit three sixes and five fours to finish on 53 from just 33 deliveries.
It was a vast improvement from the match against Hong Kong when the UAE labored to victory; requiring just 158 they would lose eight wickets and score at just three an over as they eventually sealed the win in the 49th over.
While the batting performance will have thrilled Javed, perhaps even more pleasing will have been his side's performance in the field as they restricted Malaysia to just 158 thanks to some fine bowling and excellent fielding.
Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers as the slow left-armer took 3 for just 12 from 4.4 overs, while Mohammad Naveed (2-32) and Mohammad Shahzad (2-23) would also impress.
Khan and Kamran Shazad would also claim a wicket-a-piece and there was an impressive piece of work in the field from Ahmed Raza and wicket-keeper Swapnil Patil who combined superbly to run out Khizar Hayat.
The UAE now sit fourth in the table after four games but the three teams above them all have the same record of three wins and one loss.
Javed will hope his side can now end on a high as they face third-placed Oman on Wednesday.
