New Delhi: Surely, not again. That’s perhaps what the Afghanistan dugout must have thought when the equation required 17 off the last two overs against UAE at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground here on Monday.
In the thick of action was Azmatullah Omarzai, who was still carrying the pain of the double Super Over loss to South Africa in the last game in Ahmedabad that has all but eliminated Afghanistan. But the 25-year-old was determined to turn things around for this team against familiar opponents.
The pace-bowling all-rounder put in a vital all-round performance to deliver the first win for Afghanistan, by five wickets. UAE posted 160/9 after Omarzai’s 4/15 and his 40 not out off 21 balls took Afghanistan to 162/5 with four balls to spare.
“When I went to bat, I looked at the scoreboard (97/4 in 13.1 overs). There were a lot of balls for us. We needed to play straight and rotate the strike. I was speaking to my partner, just playing straight and we were waiting for the bad ball,” Omarzai told the broadcaster after being named the player of the match.
In the loss in Ahmedabad after a tie, Omarzai had clubbed three sixes off Lungi Ngidi in the first Super Over, only for it to be tied again. South Africa won via the second Super Over, after scoring 23 off Omarzai. It’s tough to bounce back, but Omarzai is considered among the calmest players in the team.
Chasing 162, Afghanistan didn’t get off to a great start as Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell for a duck. Ibrahim Zadran (53) then stitched a 40-run partnership with Gulbadin Naib (13).
Darwish Rasooli took over (33 off 23b) before Omarzai found his flow. They stitched a 43-run partnership that steadied the chase. Omarzai hit two sixes and a four in the final over to seal the game.
A third-wicket stand of 84 between Alishan Sharafu and Sohaib Khan was the highlight of the UAE innings after early top-order setbacks. Omarzai led the bowling with excellent figures of 4/15, while Mujeeb Ur Rahman took 2/31, including the set Sharafu in his final over to check UAE’s momentum.
Sohaib, an alumnus of Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia university, top-scored with 68. Ahead of the match, Kerala-born Sharafu had spoken about UAE’s confidence against Afghanistan, citing the familiarity between two teams based in Dubai, past victories in bilateral series and the ILT20. He had said the contest would come down to who played better on the day.
That Afghanistan did to survive another day. They will need a miracle to qualify for the Super 8, Canada beating New Zealand on Tuesday.
