The UAE ended the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Premier League in impressive fashion as they crushed Oman by 57 runs to secure their third consecutive victory of the tournament and claim second in the table behind Afghanistan.
Having suffered defeats to Nepal and Afghanistan in their first two fixtures, the side led by Khurram Khan have responded superbly well and once again had their bowlers to thank for the victory over minnows Oman.
After being sent in to bat by Oman, Amjad Ali continued to look in supreme form as he raced to 20 before edging a Munis Ansari delivery behind to wicketkeeper Sultan Ahmed.
Captain Khan would then arrive at the crease but would immediately be heading back to the pavilion after he was clean bowled by Ansari first ball.
Swapnil Patil would fall for just nine runs and the UAE looked in trouble at 55-3, before Mohammad Shahzad would steady the innings as he hit a superb half-century before being run out.
Youngster Krishnachandran Karate grinded out 25 from 61 deliveries, while Salman Faris added 22 but there was little else as the UAE eventually succumbed for just 162 from 38.4 overs.
In response Oman looked as though they would have a chance of a surprise victory as they reached 75-4 in the 22nd over.
However, a collapse from the middle and lower order saw Ahmed’s side lose their final six wickets for just 30 runs as Kamran Shazad (3-27), Fayyaz Ahmed (3-14) and Mohammed Naveed (2-20) excelled with the ball in hand.
Vaibhav Wategaonkar was the only batsmen to put up serious resistance as he made 34 from 64 balls, but once Ahmed claimed his wicket then Oman were always struggling.
Victory for the UAE means that they end the tournament in Malaysia with three wins and two losses from their five games, and they have qualified to take part in the ACC Championship that runs from 7-14 December.
