SKY247.net Tri series - UAE defeats Namibia by 7 wickets in a thriller

The ICC Academy Ground in Dubai remained witness to a close finish between two associate nations of ICC, UAE and Namibia. Gerhard Erasmus lost the toss to the UAE captain Vriitya Aravind, who opted to bowl

While batting first, the Namibian batsmen never looked comfortable in the crease. They kept losing wickets and were struggling literally at 83 for 7 in 30 overs. David Wiese and Jan Frylinck staged an amazing comeback from this stage. Wiese scored 67 of 84 deliveries and Frylinck scored a beautiful half-century (57 of 70 deliveries). They stitched together a partnership of 111 runs before Wiese was dismissed in the final over. The momentum-changing partnership from the two lower-order batters helped Namibia to a total of 206 runs for 8 wickets in their 50 Overs.

The pick of the bowler for UAE was Zahoor Khan, who picked up 3 wickets for 44 runs in his 10 overs. When UAE came out to chase down the target set by Namibia, it was as if a repeat telecast of the first innings. UAE also kept losing wickets and the top order failed to form any significant partnership. The UAE team was struggling at 53 for 6 runs in 20 overs. This is when Basil Hameed and Kashif Daud came together to put together a match-winning performance. Basil scored 62 runs of 75 deliveries, while Kashif Daud anchored the innings with his half-century and guided the team to victory. Kashif stayed not out at 76 of 86 deliveries as Ahmed Raza finished the match off for UAE with a boundary. The pick of the Namibian bowlers was JJ Smit with 4 wickets for 36 runs in 10 overs. UAE won the match with 3 wickets in hand.