New Delhi, February 15 The UAE will aim to address their weaknesses in the middle order, particularly against spin, when they face a struggling Afghanistan in a must-win Group D match of the T20 World Cup here on Monday.
The two teams are entering the contest after contrasting results in their previous outings. The UAE edged out Canada to register their first win, while Afghanistan suffered a heartbreaking defeat despite pushing their last game into two Super Overs in one of the greatest T20 matches.
With South Africa and New Zealand occupying the top two spots in the group with six and four points respectively, the UAE's qualification hopes hinge on a combination of victories and favorable results elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan are desperate to open their account after coming agonizingly close against South Africa. They need to win their remaining matches convincingly, but also rely on other outcomes to stay in contention.
The UAE had suffered a 10-wicket defeat against New Zealand earlier and appeared headed for another defeat when Canada reduced them to 66 for 4 in the 13th over while chasing 150. Their top and middle order struggled against spin before opener Aryansh Sharma (74 off 53) anchored the chase. Sohaib Khan's late surge (51 off 29) then helped them complete a remarkable turnaround.
However, the UAE's batting will face a tougher test against Afghanistan's formidable spin trio of captain Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Mohammad Nabi.
"I think we need to improve our batting in the middle overs from 7 to 15, and in the 16th over. We need to focus on that," UAE captain Muhammad Waseem had said after the win over Canada.
"So, in the upcoming games, we will work on that, and that is one part of the game where we have to work."
The UAE's bowling unit found rhythm against Canada with pacer Junaid Siddique claiming five wickets, but containing players like Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Gulbadin Naib, and Azmatullah Omarzai will demand a collective effort.
The 23-year-old Gurbaz was outstanding in the last game, smashing 84 off 42 balls to take Afghanistan to 187 in regulation time. He then struck three sixes in succession in the second Super Over but fell short as Afghanistan ended up on the losing side. Omarzai also picked up three wickets, while Rashid claimed two.
Teams:
UAE: Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma, Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Mayank Kumar, Muhammad Arfan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Haider Shah, Rohid Khan, Sohaib Khan, Simranjeet Singh.
Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (c), Ibrahim Zadran (vc), Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Shahidullah, Abdollah Ahmadzai, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Ziaur Rahman.
Match starts at 11 am.
