UAE clinched a five-wicket victory against Afghanistan in the first ODI at Dubai. The hosts were set a target of 249, and they started their chase in grand style with Amjad Ali and Andri Berenger forming a 117-run opening partnership.
After their partnership, wickets kept falling at regular intervals. Khurram Khan and Saqib Ali were able to form a decent 43-run third wicket partnership. The Afghan bowlers kept things tidy and the visitors in the game until 43-year-old Khurram Khan started hitting boundaries with ease after the 41st over. Khan was gone in the 46th over but by then the damage was done.
Earlier, Afghanistan got off to a slow and cautious start, and lost their first wicket (Usman Ghani) after 10 overs, with their score on 27.
After his dismissal, Nawroz Mangal and Afsar Zazai played sensibly and formed a good partnership. However, Mangal was dismissed after he scored his 50, and the job of taking Afghanistan to a good total was done by Mohammad Nabi, Asghar Stanikzai and Samiullah Shenwari who scored freely and quickly. For UAE, no bowler stood out with his performance.
This series is the last chance for both teams to test their skills and strike the right team balance ahead of ICC World Cup 2015.
Brief scores:
Afghanistan 248 for 6 in 50 overs (Afsar Zazai 60, Nawroz Mangal 42; Krishna Karate 2 for 37) lost to UAE 249 for 5 (Amjad Ali 67, Khurram Khan 53; Mohammad Nabi 2 for 41)
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