Published: Feb 11, 2015, 03:09 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 11, 2015, 06:57 PM (IST)
Australia registered a comfortable 188-run win against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by bowling the latter out for a total of 116 in 20 overs during their ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 warm-up match at Melbourne on Wednesday. Swapnil Patil emerged the leading run-scorer for UAE with a knock of 31 off 45 deliveries, while Xavier Doherty was the pick among the Australian bowlers with figures of two for three from four overs. Michael Clarke, who was suffering from a long spell of hamstring injury, captained in the match and scored a half-century during Australia’s innings. LIVE BLOG: Australia vs United Arab Emirates ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 warm-up match
Australia had earlier finished on a majestic total of 304 for the loss of eight wickets. Their innings was mainly propelled by the top-order. Openers Michael Clarke, who returned from a hamstring injury, and Aaron Finch scored 65 and 61 respectively, sharing a 122-run opening stand. Steven Smith (59) and George Bailey (46) chipped in with vital contributions. Krishna Chandran and Nasir Aziz took three wickets each while conceding 50 and 56 runs respectively.
UAE were handed their first blow with 19 runs on board when Andri Berenger was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood on a score of six off 10 balls, with wicket-keeper Brad Haddin collecting the catch. Amjad Ali struck a couple of boundaries to reach a score of 21 off 29 deliveries before becoming Hazlewood’s second victim of the match. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: POINTS TABLE
Pakistan-born Khurram Khan, who one of UAE finest players as well as the oldest cricketer currently playing in the World Cup at an age of 43, was next to depart when he was offered Haddin another catch, this time off the bowling of Pat Cummins, who took his second wicket of the match in less than two overs when he castled Krishna Chandran. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: SCHEDULE & MATCH DETAILS
At 43 for four, the fate of the match had pretty much begun to arrange itself. It was the UAE middle-order which managed to provide some fight, with Patil forming brief partnerships with Shaiman Anwar (19) and Rohan Mustafa (15), taking UAE to 98 for five. Patil’s dismissal at this juncture, falling victim to the fierce bowling of Mitchell Johnson, turned out to be the final straw in UAE’s fight with the bat.
Things went downhill from that point onwards as the visiting team lost wickets in a heap. They lost their last five wickets while scoring a meagre 18 runs, with Xavier Doherty collecting the last two wickets in less than two overs to give Australia a massive victory. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage
Brief scores:
Australia 304 for 8 in 50 overs (Michael Clarke 64, Aaron Finch 61, Steven Smith 59; Krishna Chandran 3 for 50, Nasir Aziz 3 for 56) beat United Arab Emirates 116 in 30.1 overs (Swapnil Patil 31; Xavier Doherty 2 for 3, Josh Hazlewood 2 for 12, Pat Cummins 2 for 21) by 188 runs.
