Riding on Parvez Hossain Emon’s cracking century, Bangladesh defeated a new-look UAE by 21 runs in their first game of the two-match T20I series in Sharjah on Saturday.
Three UAE players – Matiullah, Mohammad Zobair and Jawadullah – made their T20I debut.
Ater posting a fighting total of 191/7, Bangladesh restricted UAE to 164 to take 1-0 lead in the series.
UAE captain Muhammad Waseem came out with a positive mindset as he gave them a blistering start.
Waseem and Muhammad Zohaib put up quick-fire 40 runs for the first wicket to set the tone for a close chase.
Waseem was so brutal that the contribution of Zohaib in a 40-run partnership was only 9.
Bangladesh picked up the wickets of Zohaib and Alishan Sharafu in quick succession to push UAE on the back foot.
Waseem and Rahul Chopra stitched the innings and took the score to 103, adding 62 runs for the third wicket in just 42 balls. Waseem raced to his fifty in 32 balls with a couple.
The dismissal of Waseem pushed UAE on the backfoot. They still needed 88 runs. Asif Khan hit three consecutive sixes off Mahedi Hasan to steal 25 runs from the over and ward off the pressure.
In the next over, Tanzim removed Chopra to give another jolt to the UAE. Chopra’s 22-ball 35 was studded with five fours and one six.
The match was evenly poised but Mustafizur bowled a brilliant over, conceding only three runs to put the pressure back on the UAE.
Asif kept the chase alive with some big hits but he did not get the support from the other end. He brought the equation down to 28 needed of 24.
But the batsmen on the other end consumed too many deliveries which sent the run rate skyrocketing.
Asif failed to absorb the pressure and was caught by Hridoy off Mahmud, who picked up three wickets.
Irrespective of the results, the match will remain etched in the memories of the people for the two stand out performances.
UAE’s Muhamamd Jawadullah made a dream debut while Bangladesh’s Emon also had an unforgettable match as he smashed the maiden century of his career.
He became just the second batsman in the history of Bangladesh to score a century in T20Is. Before him, only Tamim Iqbal achieved the feat, scoring a ton against Oman in 2016.
Emon and Towhid Hirdoy stitched the innings and added 58 runs for the third wicket to lay down a strong foundation for a big total after Bangladesh had lost two wickets for 49.
Right-arm pacer Matiullah Khan gave the UAE first breakthrough by getting rid of opener Tanzid.
He got the ball to move away from the batsman. Tanzid chased the slightly wide delivery outside the off stumps but he could manage to get an edge and the wicket-keeper Rahul Chopra made no mistake as Bangladesh lost their first wicket with just 13 runs on the board.
It looked that the UAE did the right thing to choose fielding after winning the toss.
The idea was to exploit the conditions and also avoid bowling at night. It becomes extremely difficult to get hold of the ball due to the dew factor at night.
The UAE were buoyant by the early dismissal of Tanzid. Emon shared a couple of big partnerships to steer Bangladesh to safety.
He added 58 runs for the third wicket after captain Litton Das was sent back cheaply by the UAE Jawadullah.
Emon played a steadfast innings with determination as wickets kept on falling on the other end.
Emon and Hridoy had put the innings back on the track as Bangladesh looked poised to post a huge total of 200 plus.
But the UAE struck twice in quick succession to put brakes on the run rate briefly.
Dhruv Prashar broke the partnership by picking up the wicket of Hridoy as Bangladesh lost two wickets within a span of five runs to be reduced to 112/4 from 107/2.
Emon kept the UAE bowlers busy with a gritty innings. Not only he kept the scoreboard ticking with singles and doubles but also played big shots all over the ground to spur the run rate.
He accelerated his innings amazingly as he shifted the gears after getting his eyes in.
He scored the first 50 off 31 deliveries and the next 50 came in just 23 balls.
He reached his century off 53 deliveries with a single.
He smashed nine sixes and five boundaries during his stay at the crease.
Jawadullah returned to put an end to the marathon innings of Emon. He rattled the stumps of the left-handed batsmen to pick up his fourth scalp.
Jawadullah’s spirited performance on the debut will surely take pressure off the UAE coach.
UAE’s search for a genuine fast bowler seems to have gotten over with the debut of Jawadullah as he returned with a figure of 4/21 in four overs.