TimesofIndia.com, New Delhi: How many days do you think it takes for a person to recover from the heartbreak of a double Super Overs collapse? Five days, is it enough? Well, Afghanistan contemplated another Super Over and even failed, but finally crossed the finish line with a five-wicket advantage against the Emirates at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday with four balls to spare.For a time, Afghanistan seemed to be heading for the exit. Needing 28 runs off 18 balls, even with six wickets in hand, the ask seemed too big.
Later, seeing a six and a wicket, the equation changed from 12 balls to 17 balls. After a few singles, the tension was palpable in the dugout and on the court where many Afghan flags could be seen.Muhammad Jawadullah, fresh off three valuable dot balls, rushed in and sent an outside ball into the fourth stump line where Azmatullah Omarzai smacked it from underneath to the crowd.Next ball, a long ball back, fortunately saved by Umarzai and Afghanistan, thick inside edge runs to the boundary rope.With just four runs needed in the final over, the 25-year-old all-rounder kept Afghanistan’s slim hopes of reaching the Super Eights alive with a boundary over the cover area.Next up was Canada’s Afghan team who no longer had control over their own destiny in the game. If New Zealand beats Canada on Tuesday, the previous semifinalists will be eliminated.
The UAE finished with a record of 160/9, suffering defeats in their last two matches
Sohaib Khan hit a brilliant half-century but Azmatullah Omarzai’s four wickets helped the UAE stay at 160/9.After opting to bowl, Afghanistan struck early and put the UAE in trouble with 13 off 2 balls before Sohaib stabilized the innings with 68 off 48 balls, including 6 fours and 4 sixes.He along with Alishan Sharafu (29 off 40) put on a 57-ball, 84-run stand for the third wicket to help the team recover from an early blow.However, Afghanistan fought back in the middle order with a flurry of wickets and by the 16th over, the UAE were at 121 for 6.Sohaib then added 31 more runs with Haider Ali, but Umarzai came back to remove him in the 19th over and claim his fourth wicket.
Sohaib Khan in the United Arab Emirates (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Earlier, UAE suffered an early setback when hero Aryansh Sharma, the hero of the previous match, was dismissed for a four-ball duck for an insufficient pull on wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gubaz near Omarzai. Captain Muhammad Waseem (10) hit two boundaries before being trapped by Mujeeb Ur Rahman as UAE slipped to 13 runs with 2-13. Afghanistan’s replacement pacer Ziaur Rahman replaced left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi, while spinner Noor Ahmad both proved costly.Rahman conceded 16 runs in the first over while Sohaib hit 3 boundaries.The UAE batsmen negotiated well against Afghanistan spin in the powerplay, profiting from any looseness. Sharaf hit two boundaries off Mujib as Emirates were 55 for 2, before hitting Rashid Khan for six to take his half-century to a new level.Noor had a tough game as Sohaib hit him for two sixes at cover and mid-wicket as the UAE reached 93 for 2 in 10 overs.Mujib eventually broke the stand and Sharaf found Ibrahim Zadran at long-on. Umarzai then struck twice in the third over, dismissing Syed Haider (13) and forcing Harshit Kaushik (0) to take advantage.Sohaib reached 50 with 6 in 37 balls, but Muhammad Arfan (0) knocked down his own stumps while trying to hit the ball in reverse. Man-of-the-match Omarzai finally ended Sohaib’s resistance in the 19th over to cap off an impressive spell.
