Omarzai's all-round brilliance hands Afghanistan their first win of the World Cup
UAE put in a spirited performance, but Omarzai with figures of 4 for 15 and an unbeaten 40 off 21 stole the show
UAE put in a spirited performance, but Omarzai with figures of 4 for 15 and an unbeaten 40 off 21 stole the show
Scorer: Ranjith P | Commentator: Rvel Zahid
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Azmatullah Omarzai, Player of the Match: I am very happy with my performance. The wicket was a bit low, I was trying to bowl the hard length and I got the success. I just looked at the scoreboard and I knew we had many balls left, wanted to rotate strike and focus on playing straight and wait for the poor deliveries and that approach helped while being out with Darwaish. Hope to replicate the same performance in the next game
Muhammad Waseem, UAE Captain: It's a very good game, boys fought well. We were 15 runs short, we gave two or three extra boundary balls and that cost us the game. We lost two early wickets but after that, the way Alishan and Sohaib batted, they played good knocks. Felt we were 10-15 runs short and they got out at the wrong time. We were trying to fight till the last ball. We are hungry for the victory, fielding was excellent and I am happy with the effort. Last game⊠again, it's a different opposition, we will come with different plans, we will show our talent to the world
Rashid Khan, Afghanistan Captain: Happy to finish up with the win, always important to have a win at the World Cup and let's hope for the best in the rest of the competition. We bowled really well in the last 10 overs, we missed our lines earlier and they played well. First 10 overs we didn't bowl as good as we should have. Need to improve in the first 10 overs and be more consistent. We all know how aggressive he (Gurbaz) is, I feel like that's how he scores runs, to go with an aggressive mindset and dominate in the powerplay. It does work and sometimes (it doesn't). It's always important for players like Gurbaz to remain there longer (because) it helps the team. We have got quite good experience, with Nabi and Omarzai⊠they have played a lot in these conditions. Mujeeb is very accurate with the line and it's always good to have experienced players around the team. (On the last game) Still have a little bit of hope, we can make it to the next stage and we just need to come up with a positive mindset. Even if we don't make it to the next round, we want to play with the same brand of cricket and (make our nation proud)
South Africa have qualified for Super Eight
Alishan Sharafu and Sohaib Khan's heroics careered the UAE to a modest 160-9 that brought the game to life. The game ebbed and flowed and had many twists and turns as both teams engaged in a tight tussle for ascendancy. A big finish was lacking and that cost the UAE towards the end as 20 more runs could have changed the complexion. The star of the show, Azmatullah Omarzai, stepped up with the ball and picked up 4-15 while Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan were miserly as well. Afghanistan lost their flamboyant and reliable opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz for nought but Ibrahim Zadran held his end of the bargain and scored a measured, composed half-century that kept them in the hunt. Gulbadin Naib and Sediqullah Atal got starts but perished early and thereon Darwaish Rasooli ensured they didn't fall far behind the required rate and raced to 33 off 23. But it was that man again who proved to be the difference between the two sides; Omarzai scored 41 off 21 and simply put the game to bed with his terrific performance. Junaid Siddique was excellent while Muhammad Arfan brought the UAE back into the game with his timely strikes in the middle-overs
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UAE put in a spirited performance, but Omarzai with figures of 4 for 15 and an unbeaten 40 off 21 stole the show
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| Super Eights, Group 1 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
| SA | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2.259 |
| IND | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0.106 |
| WI | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0.993 |
| ZIM | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -3.415 |
| Super Eights, Group 2 | |||||
| Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
| ENG | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1.096 |
| NZ | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1.39 |
| PAK | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -0.123 |
| SL | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -1.95 |
| Group A | |||||
| Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
| IND | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 2.5 |
| PAK | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0.976 |
| USA | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0.788 |
| NED | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -1.217 |
| NAM | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | -3.108 |
| Group B | |||||
| Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
| ZIM | 4 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 1.506 |
| SL | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1.741 |
| AUS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1.523 |
| IRE | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.15 |
| OMA | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | -4.845 |
| Group C | |||||
| Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
| WI | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 1.874 |
| ENG | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0.201 |
| SCOT | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0.184 |
| ITA | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -1.02 |
| NEP | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -1.349 |
| Group D | |||||
| Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
| SA | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 1.943 |
| NZ | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1.227 |
| AFG | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0.889 |
| UAE | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -1.364 |
| CAN | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | -2.426 |