Shaiman Anwar’s excellent century and cameos from Amjad Ali, Khurram Khan, and Amjad Javed ensured that UAE got to 278 for nine against Ireland in the 16th match of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 at Brisbane. The way UAE approached their innings at the start suggested that they had no realistic hope of lasting for a full 50 overs. All that changed once Shaiman and Javed came together for a game-changing 107-run stand for the seventh wicket. Live Scorecard: Ireland vs United Arab Emirates (UAE) ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Amjad and fellow opener Andri Raffaelo Berenger got off to a sedate start, scoring just 44 runs off the first 10 overs. The safety-first approach soon backfired, as Stirling snapped up both Berenger and Krishna Karate in quick succession to leave UAE struggling at 53 for two. Amjad and Khurram then put on a 20-run stand which had the potential to turn into a match-winning one before Amjad holed out to Max Sorenson off Kevin O’Brien. Live Updates: Ireland vs UAE ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Swapnil Patil was out soon thereafter, as UAE slumped to 78 for four before Khurram and Shaiman came together. Khurram went past 500 ODI runs, becoming the first UAE batsman in history to do so. The duo added 47 before Khurram was out to a slightly questionable LBW decision. Khurram went for the review, which showed that the ball would have just about clipped the top of the bails. The decision stayed with the umpire as Khurram was declared out for 36. UAE’s trend of losing two wickets in a row continued, with Rohan Mustafa edging behind to reduce UAE to 131 for six before another partnership between Shaiman and Amjad Javed. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: POINTS TABLE
The duo finally showed some impetus, taking on the largely one-dimensional Irish attack with elan and adding 107 crucial runs for the seventh wicket. Shaiman was all about style, while Javed used the long handle with good effect as the duo churned out runs at will. Paul Stirling bowled a nagging spell of his part-time off-spin that yielded two for 27 in 10 overs, but the others struggled with their line and length toward the end of the innings. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: SCHEDULE & MATCH DETAILS
Much like in the previous game against Zimbabwe, UAE managed to bring out a few big hits toward the end to make up for a lacklustre start. It was Shaiman’s innings of 67 in the last match that had helped take UAE to 285. He did even better this time around, becoming the first UAE batsman to score a World Cup ton, and ensured that UAE ended with another good score. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage
Brief scores:
UAE 278 for 9 in 50 overs (Amjad Ali 45, Shaiman Anwar 106, Amjad Javed 42; Paul Stirling 2 for 27, Kevin O’Brien 2 for 61) vs Ireland.
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek and Cricket fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter @ShiamakUnwalla)
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