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Sharafu 51 (35), Waseem 69 (54), Ramanandi 2-24
UAE 172-5 v Oman, Asia Cup, Abu Dhabi
Alishan Sharafu charged down the track from ball one, Muhammad Waseem ticked along at his own pace, and between them they dragged the United Arab Emirates to 172 for five – a total that looks a touch above par on a slow, low Abu Dhabi surface.
UAE were only 11 without loss after three overs, then plundered 39 from the next three and never really lost the momentum. Sharafu’s dozen advances inside the powerplay produced all six of his fours, the pick an inside-out drive over extra cover off leg-spinner Samay Shrivastava. “I wanted to get them off their lengths early,” Sharafu said. “On this pitch you can’t just wait for the bad ball.”
Waseem’s innings was less fluent. He crawled to three from his first nine deliveries, mis-timed more than he middled, but the opener leaned on experience and ended with 69 from 54. Oman helped. Waseem was on 27 when the long-on fielder misjudged a steepler on the rope; the ball burst through his hands and trickled for four. Seven runs later Shakeel Ahmed spilled a simple chance at short fine leg. “Drops happen, but two in the same innings hurts,” Oman’s assistant coach Lalchand Rajput admitted.
Oman’s bowling numbers tell the story. Shah Faisal’s 19th over cost 18, leaving him with 0-45, while only left-arm seamer Pratik Ramanandi (2-24) found consistent purchase. The last over did bring two wickets, yet the damage had long been done.
“We probably left 15 runs out there,” Waseem conceded, reflecting on a finish that stuttered slightly. Even so, UAE hold the upper hand heading into the chase; the pitch is tiring and the boundary riders will be nervous after a messy afternoon. Oman, winless so far, need their top order to produce something special to keep their campaign alive.
