After beating Nepal in Muscat, the UAE has booked a trip to the T20 World Cup in Australia.
On Tuesday, Ahmed Raza’s team defeated their familiar rivals by 68 runs in the semi-finals of the qualifying event.
The national team will return to the global stage for the first time in seven years, and only the fourth time in history.
They have participated in the 50-over World Cup twice, in 1996 and 2015, and have played the 20-over World Cup once, in 2014.
Muhammad Waseem opened the game with the bat before captain Raza applied the finishing touches with the ball in the seminal last-four match against Nepal.
During the half-century, Waseem held three catches, one of which was a diving boundary catch. The game was won by Race with 5-19.
UAE scored 175-7 from 20 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat. While Vriitya Aravind was in the middle of his latest tour de force, they might have hoped for more.
A day earlier, UAE’s leading run-scorer had taken UAE through to this semi-final with an extraordinary salvo that brought him 24 runs off the final over against Bahrain.
With his next match against Nepal, he continued his winning ways. He made 46 off 23 balls before playing back to a googly from Sandeep Lamichhane and being bowled.
The UAE were on 72-2 midway through the eighth, however. In spite of Lamichhane’s excellent bowling and captaincy, Mohammed Usman struggled for form.
Waseem played a fine hand all the while. Despite not quite being at his best to this point in the competition, the opener picked the right time to rekindle his form.
From 48 balls, Waseem made 70. One of the sixes caused a pause in the match between Ireland and Oman on the adjacent field, as the square leg-fielder in that match saw the ball bounce past him.
On the penultimate ball of the 17th over, he was out. UAE did not apply a late surge to their overs without him or Aravind, but 176 was always going to be a challenging chase given the stakes on the line.
UAE made an ideal start to the defence. Aasif Sheikh was first trapped in front by Junaid Siddique; he was on a hat-trick after Lokesh Bam was caught at point by Waseem off the next delivery.
Aravind caught in-form Kushal Bhurtel at the wicket in the next over. Nepal was unable to recover, and Raza ran through the middle order and tail with five runs.
After the sport in the emirates was ravaged by corruption in 2019, this qualification represents a remarkable recovery.
In spite of losing seven senior players to spot-fixing-related suspension, Raza’s young team has returned to the global stage.
