New Delhi, February 15 Top batter Alishan Sharma believes the UAE have "figured out" how to play against Afghanistan, and wants the batters to counter the spinners by hitting straight in their must-win T20 World Cup match here on Monday.
The UAE secured their first victory of the tournament against Canada, but with South Africa and New Zealand occupying the top two spots in the group with six and four points respectively, their qualification hopes depend on winning their remaining games and getting favourable results elsewhere.
In their last game, while chasing 150 against Canada, the UAE were reduced to 66 for 4 as their top and middle-order batters struggled against spin before Aryansh Sharma (74 off 53) and Shoaib Khan (51 off 29) sealed a remarkable comeback.
"I think it's a positive sign for our team that we had a couple of players score in the first game, and two other players stepped up and performed well in the second game," he said.
"So, in terms of the batting unit, it's good that we have multiple players who are in good form, and it's just a matter of who performs on a given day.
"So, I think we are confident with our batsmen, and we would be happy if two more players step up and perform well tomorrow. That's what I want to see – a positive attitude and a good performance."
Afghanistan boasts a formidable spin trio in captain Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Mohammad Nabi, and Sharma said that their preparation had focused on playing them straight.
"...it's just about focusing on playing and hitting the ball as straight as possible. We have had some discussions about their strategies and how they start their spells, and how they manage themselves towards the end."
"But yes, we have done a lot of analysis, and all I can say is that we have watched and played against them quite a bit."
Sharma added that the UAE can draw confidence from their previous encounters with Afghanistan.
"They are a great team, and I think having played them multiple times in the past, we are happy that we have won a few times against them. So, we have cracked the code," he said.
"So, it's just a matter of whoever plays better cricket on the day. And I think we are confident in our chances, and we want to go out there and perform at our best.
"We have played with and against them in the ILT20. And we have had a couple of bilateral and tri-series with them. So, we have played them, and like I said, we have won against them before. So, we hope that we turn up and put on a good performance tomorrow."
