Asia Cup: Pakistan beat UAE to reach Super Four stage
Having been delayed , Pakistan managed to overcome the United Arab Emirates in the Asia Cup Group A game, winning 41 runs.
As the game was slated for a 6:30 pm start, the first ball was bowled at 7:30 pm as a result of the United Arab Emirates winning the toss and choosing to field.
Having unsuccessfully petitioned for the removal of match referee Andy Pycroft from the Pakistan-India game handshaking debacle, the entire match hinged on whether Pakistan would bat first.
Although the Agha Salman led team achieved a score of 93 in 16 overs at a crippling loss of 6 wickets, they managed to achieve a lower order score that was more than respectable, leading Pakistan to win the match
In Pakistan’s 146- 9 game, 146 was their target and they won the match. Junaid Siddique managed 4 wickets, as well as Simranjeet Singh, and under 30 runs.
However, the challenge was not met, hence, the home side’s innings could not escape the fate of the collapse, losing 105 runs for 10 wickets, a simple conclusion to a day that started as anything but simple.
Next challenge
Pakistan's first game of the Super Four stage will be against India and is scheduled for next Sunday. This will be a week after the contentious Group A contest in which India's refusal to shake hands after the game caused a major disturbance to the tournament.
Pakistan's progress after their win against the UAE and the theatrics that preceded their participation in the game means that the management will really hope to improve all aspects of batting against spinners for the game against India next Sunday.
‘We completed the objective (against UAE) but we really have to step up the middle order batting. This is the most pertinent issue we have and we have to address it,’ Agha noted.
"We ourselves have not batted at our best yet...we are still on the way to 150 though if we bat well in this period of the game, we can get to 170, whatever the opposition.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 146 for 9 (Fakhar 50, Afridi 29 not out, Siddique 4-18, Simranjeet 3-26) beat UAE 105 (Chopra 35, Abrar 2-13, Afridi 2-16) by 41 runs.
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