ICC World Cup Qualifiers, Super Sixes, Match 6, Review: Afghanistan stay afloat with easy win over UAE

Team Afghanistan have managed to stay afloat in the ongoing ICC World Cup Qualifiers with a relatively easy win over the UAE. UAE have been the weakest side in the Super Sixes stage of the qualifiers thus far. And as the action unfolded in the 6th game of the Super Sixes, their lackluster show continued to be on display. At the same time, the Afghanistani side was quick to capitalize on the opportunity.

Now, team Afghanistan will be hoping to win their final league game and then expect a few other net run rate issues to head their way if they wish to book their tickets to London for the World Cup next year. Commenting on the game, they beat the UAE by 5 wickets to complete an easy win on the day.

Earlier in the day, UAE skipper Rohan Mustafa chose to bat first after winning the toss. But, the plan backfired big time with Dawlat Zadran wreaking havoc with the new ball. Zadran took two wickets up front, including that of Mustafa, to put UAE on the back foot. Mujeeb Zadran also looked tough to negotiate for the UAE batters.

Rashid bags five

But the real star for Afghanistan with the ball was their skipper Rashid Khan. Rashid picked up yet another ODI five-wicket haul to dent the UAE middle order. He ran through the UAE batting line up, as Shaiman Anwar tried to hold the for UAE at one end. He scored his fifty but found himself running out of partners.

Eventually, he found some good support from the number 8 batter, Ahmed Raza, who scored a quick 20-ball 45. His exploits, combined with an anchoring 64 (87) from Shaiman helped UAE reach 177. They were bundled out in 43 overs with Rashid Khan returning with figures of 5/41 in 9 overs.

Afghanistan stutter at 54/5

In the run chase, Afghanistan had a terrible start witih Mohammad Shahzad getting dismissed on 3 in the second over of the game by Qadeer Ahmed. A brief partnership between Gulbadin Naib and Rahmat Shah (16) saw the scorecard move slowly, yet steadily.

A sudden slump saw four wickets falling in quick succession for UAE. This included a double strike by Mohammad Naveed. From being 36/1 to 54/5, the chances of the Afghanistani side seemed to be dwindling.

It was just then that Najibullah Zadran and Naib stitched an unbeaten stand to script a decent win for them. The two batsmen negotiated the new ball and then started to score freely. They added an unbeaten 124-run stand for the sixth wicket to see Afghanistan home by 5 wickets. Naib remained unbeaten on 74 off 97 deliveries with four boundaries and a couple of sixes. Zadran, the more attacking partner, scored an unbeaten 63 off 64 deliveries with five fours and two maximums.

Brief Scores:

UAE 177/10 in 43 overs (Anwat 64, Naveed 45, Rashid 5/41, Dawlat 3/45)

Afghanistan 178/5 in 34.3 overs (Naib 74*, Najibullah 63*, Naveed 2/37, Qadeer 2/38)

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