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'And with that, the 2023 season comes to an end.' Fitting that we call it a night with that quote, isn't it? There is no stoppage of cricketing action though - the first day of 2024 will see a fair bit of it already with a Big Bash League double-header lined up and we hope that the year ahead enthralls us with a lot more exciting cricket just like this one has. For the moment though, wishing you a happy and prosperous New Year on behalf of the entire team at Sportskeeda is the troika of Pradeep Somashekar, Arya Sekhar Chakraborty and Sooryanarayanan Sesha as we thank you for being a part of our coverage tonight. See you in the new year - good night and take care!
The skipper had a huge role to play himself today with the bat and then on the field. A magnificent display by the UAE today and once again, they've managed to stretch a series into a decider. They couldn't pull it off in the decider against Afghanistan earlier this year or against New Zealand either later on. Can they script something different though on January 2? Afghanistan will certainly hope that isn't the case and they will want to bounce back after a disappointing performance today. But the UAE have every reason to celebrate and savor a famous win!
Muhammad Waseem (UAE captain): Thanks to the Almighty. It's a good achievement for us, the UAE and the management to beat Afghanistan again. When I saw the wicket I had faith in my boys that we could defend if we scored 150-160. The ball was seaming around in the last game and it was the same again today. I was hitting the ball well and I told Aryan to not give his wicket away since in the last game we lost early wickets and we couldn't score much. I told him to not give his wicket and I can handle it. After that he played a sensible knock. Before I started cricket for two years I was only a fielder. I didn't bat or bowl and that's why I love to field (when asked about the catch of Qais). The preparation will be very simple. We have to stick to the basic things and go with our plans. We'll try to win the series.
Ibrahim Zadran (Afghanistan captain): I was trying to take sometime, like last game but things didn't go our way, unfortunately we finished on the wrong side of the game. The pressure is there during the chase, I always try to enjoy the batting, took the responsibility, but didn't execute the plan today and not happy with our performance. We didn't put up partnerships, if you are chasing 160 plus, you need partnerships. Nabi is the most senior player in our team, he applies well and the way he batted, we enjoyed, he gave us the hope, but we had lost too many wickets. Not much to think, we will keep it simple and come out with positive intent with some plans.
Ali Naseer is the Player of the Match! Here's what he has to say: Actually Waseem bhai helped me a lot, the wicket was pretty good for the pacers, hitting the deck hard and luckily it worked out very well for me. Over the past 6-7 months, I've played teams like West Indies, Sri Lanka and last series also helped a lot and playing around the world has helped, did well today. (About the celebration) Actually watching Ihsanullah in PSL, I try to follow that and it's come out really well quite often.
Match Summary: UAE beat Afghanistan by 11 runs to level the series 1-1 with a game to spare.
Aryan Lakra 63* (47) | Ali Naseer 4/24 (4) Mohammad Nabi 47 (27) | Qais Ahmad 2/15 (3)
A New Year's Eve party if there ever was one! 2023 was a cracking year for the sport and my goodness, haven't we witnessed an iconic thriller to cap it off for the calendar year. A fitting end if there ever was one and both the UAE and Afghanistan have produced a spectacle at one of the world's most fabled venues. And in the process, the hosts have scripted a famous win to level the series with a game to go!
They had to work with 166 runs which just felt slightly under-par. It felt way below par when Rahmanullah Gurbaz picked up from where he left off a couple of nights ago and Hazratullah Zazai gave him good company too. The seamers extracted steep bounce off the surface but everything was going the visitors' way as they raced to 47 in the first five overs.
But then came Ali Naseer and he gave the contest the twist it needed. Having hit those hard lengths while keeping his lines tight, he chipped away at will to remove Gurbaz first as he sent down a wicket maiden before nabbing skipper Ibrahim Zadran and the set Zazai to leave Afghanistan in a spot of bother. The asking rate continued to rise as a result and with Aayan Khan building the pressure at his end, things were getting a lot more difficult for Afghanistan.
A partnership started to develop between two of the more senior pros in Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi before a collapse followed. From 98/3, Afghanistan slumped to 99/6 as Muhammad Jawadullah and Junaid Siddique redeemed themselves. Qais Ahmad played a blinder, launching one a mile out of the ground as well before a tremendous boundary catch by Muhammad Waseem sent him packing, leaving it all on the shoulders of Nabi as Afghanistan were soon nine wickets down. The President gave it everything, pocketing 19 runs off the penultimate over before putting his team in the hunt to realistically raze down 20 off the last. Alas, it was so near yet so far as the veteran holed out with Akif Raja holding his nerve to secure a special result for the UAE. Stick around for the presentation...
It's a New Year's Eve party for the UAE! They round off 2023 with an eleven-run win to keep the series alive. What a game, what a performance!
19.5 Akif Raja to Mohammad Nabi, OUT! UP IN THE AIR AND TAKEN! Game over. Akif Raja holds on to his nerve and they have kept the series alive with 1-1. Change of pace, back of a length outside the off-stump. Nabi slashes it too hard and miscued it straight up as Lakra fittingly takes a sitter at backward point. What a spirited performance from UAE to bounce back to square the series!
Mohammad Nabi c Aryan Lakra b Akif Raja 47 (27b, 5x4, 2x6)
Who could have written this script? Two sixes off the last two balls will seal the series for Afghanistan. We've seen fireworks in a metaphoric sense on New Year's Eve and we could just be in for a couple more.
19.4 Akif Raja to Mohammad Nabi, short outside the off-stump, Nabi slapped it over the top of extra-cover, falls safely and they scamper back for the brace.
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Sharjah Cricket Stadium
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