SHARJAH: Yamin Ahmadzai decimated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) batting lineup with his five-wicket haul and powered Afghanistan to a statement 109-run victory in the first 50-over practice match on Monday.
Put into bat first, Afghanistan could only put 214 runs on the board before bundling out in the 48th over.
The touring side had an unwanted start to their innings as they lost their opener, Riaz Hassan in the third over with 16 runs on the board.
Another opener Mohammad Ishaq was then joined by experienced Rahmat Shah in the middle and the pair added 30 runs for the second wicket before the former perished.
Ishaq scored 22 in 21 deliveries with the help of two boundaries and a six.
Rahmat then joined forces with Bahir Shah to put together an anchoring partnership and put Afghanistan in command.
The duo had driven Afghanistan to 115/2 in 20 overs. However, Muhammad Zuhaib provided a much-needed breakthrough in the following over for the UAE by dismissing Rahmat, who had scored 38 off 54 balls with three boundaries and a six.
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Afghanistan then ran into a collapse and soon slipped to 147/6 in the 30th over with their mainstay Bahir Shah also walking back to the dugout.
He remained the top-scorer for Afghanistan with a 64-ball 44, which included four boundaries and a six.
Experienced all-rounder Gulbadin Naib then took charge of Afghanistan’s innings and stitched a crucial 61-run partnership with Sharafuddin Ashraf to take the touring side past the 200-run mark.
The pair appeared to be in good nick to power Afghanistan to a big total but their back-to-back dismissals in the 45th over halted their side’s progress.
Naib scored a sensible 42 in 51 balls while Ashraf scored a cautious 24.
Akif Raja then ran through Afghanistan’s batting tail and booked the visitors on a modest total.
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Raja led the bowling attack for the UAE with 3/40 while Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zuhaib and Dhruv Parashar bagged two wickets each.
Chasing a modest total, UAE’s batting lineup failed against Afghanistan’s disciplined bowling attack and could yield a mere 105.
Dhruv Prashar waged a lone battle for the home side with a gutsy knock but his efforts went in vain as he received no support from the other end.
He top-scored for the UAE with an unbeaten 38 off 61 deliveries with the help of four boundaries.
Besides him, tailender Muhammad Jawadullah (24) was the other notable run-getter for the UAE while the rest of their batters failed to make it into the double figures.
Yamin Ahmadzai led the bowling attack for Afghanistan with a five-wicket haul while Fareed Ahmad and Bilal Sami picked two wickets each.
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