SYDNEY: The UAE finished their 2022 T20 World Cup with a morale boosting, nail-biting and historic seven-run win against Namibia. A result that cost their opponents qualification to the next stage of the competition.
The UAE’s victory owed much to a man-of-the-match all-round performance from Muhammad Waseem. The right-handed opener scored 50 off 41 balls with the bat, before he closed out the match by defending 14 off the final over. What’s more, it was just the fourth time he had bowled in a T20I for the UAE in 20 matches, and the first time in over a year.
“We have always believed in his ability,” captain CP Rizwan said of Waseem after the game. “We have played together in domestic cricket in UAE, and I have seen him nailing yorkers like anything, so I have always had trust in him.
“What better moment could you have to nail your yorker, and get the big wicket of David Wiese. I am really happy for him and the team.”
This was just the second victory the UAE have ever recorded at a World Cup and comes a whole 26 years after their first which came against the Netherlands in 1996. In the three World Cups that the UAE have participated in since, they have suffered 11 consecutive losses, with captain CP Rizwan commenting that the plane-ride home will be a much happier journey now the side finally have a win under their belt.
“It has been a really good journey,” Rizwan, the captain, said. “There have been a lot of good moments. There are lessons to be learnt. With this first win, we can take this forward and try to make an impact in world cricket further also.”
Hindsight will show that it was the batting that ultimately prevented the UAE campaign from progressing any further than the first round. Poor showings against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka cost them, but a much improved outing here against Namibia will give them cause for optimism as attention immediately turns to qualification for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.
Despite failing to progress, this tournament should be considered a qualified success for what is a young side still developing. Reaching the tournament in itself was an achievement and achieving that elusive win means the side have got a monkey off their back for any future tournaments.
“That is a huge bonus for us,” said Rizwan. “Because these are the guys who will take UAE cricket forward. They have had a lot of happy moments and hopefully this is the start of things to come for UAE cricket.
“I would like to give credit to our coach, Robin Singh, and the management for being able to instil belief in the youngsters.
“They have the confidence that they are here to achieve and perform, and not worry about the stage they are on. They have the freedom to express themselves.”
The primary concern for the UAE heading into the tournament was that the fast and bouncy conditions of Australia would be completely alien to batters who had grown up on the much slower surfaces of home.
And it proved to be the case, as even with the wickets far slower than anticipated, the UAE failed to deal with the high pace of Sri Lanka as they collapsed to 73 all-out and managed only 112 against the Netherlands.
And it had threatened to be more of the same today, as the UAE stumbled to 39-1 after 8.1 overs, with Vriitya Aravind in particular struggling for any rhythm as he departed for 21 off 32 deliveries.
But then a switch was flipped and the UAE displayed the ability with the bat that their potential has always promised.
The final 12 overs of the innings brought 109 runs, as Waseem scored 50 off 41 balls and captain CP Rizwan and Basil Hameed put their foot down as both finished unbeaten on 43 off 29 and 25 off 14 respectively as the UAE finished on 148-3.
With the ball, the UAE’s defence got off to an almost perfect start as Hameed backed up his performance with the bat by claiming two early wickets, whilst Junaid Siddique further proved himself to be one of the stars of the first round when he took the first Namibian wicket of Stephan Baard. After five overs, Namibia were 26-3.
If Siddique has been one major positive for the UAE, then Karthik Meiyappan has been the other. He made history in the UAE’s match against Sri Lanka when he became the first UAE international to take a T20I hat-trick and struck with just his second ball here, dismissing Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus for 16.
The combination of Hameed, Siddique and Meiyappan reduced Namibia to 46-5 after eight overs and a famous victory was in sight. But that didn’t account for Namibia’s David Wiese, who despite losing two further partners at the other end, put on a backs against the wall 70-run eighth wicket partnership with Ruben Trumpelmann as he scored a 31-ball fifty to drag his side back into the match.
From a position where Namibia were dead-and-buried, Wiese had brought them back to life. And after surviving a caught-and-bowled opportunity when Waseem failed to hold on to a skier, put his side in the box seat with only 20 runs needed off the final two overs.
Six runs were scored off Zahoor Khan’s excellent penultimate over, meaning it was left to Waseem, who hadn’t bowled in any of his previous 16 games for the UAE, to defend 14 off the final over.
Four runs were scored off the first three balls, before the match-winning moment arrived when Wiese was caught on the long-on boundary by Alishan Sharafu just as the ball had briefly seemed destined to travel for six.
The catch prompted wild celebrations from the UAE players and after Waseem successfully delivered the final two deliveries, they officially had that World Cup win that they had been waiting so long for.
“The bowlers all did a great job”, concluded Rizwan. “It was a top team effort with everyone contributing in one way or another.
