Sri Lanka beat UAE by 14 runs

Sri Lanka came out in front in an absorbing encounter of the Asia Cup 2016 against UAE by 14 runs at Mirpur Stadium today.

Needing only 130 to win, UAE batters failed to rise to the occasion and threw away a wonderful opportunity to cause an upset. The gung-ho approach by most of the UAE batters resulted in their downfall against Sri Lankan bowlers.

For Sri Lanka, captain Malinga finished the game with four wickets for 26. Kulasekara took three while Herath captured two with his left-arm spin.

UAE’s Swapnil Patil was the top-scorer with 37. The next highest score in his team was 13.

The 18th over of UAE’s chase produced another wicket as captain Amjad Javed was caught in the deep for 13. Amjad cleared his front leg and swung hard. He had the elevation but not the distance.

Malinga returned in the 17th over to remove UAE’s Patil for 37. Patil gave his side hope of an upset as long as he stayed at the wicket.

Patil faced 36 balls and smashed three fours and two sixes in his knock

The crucial seventh wicket partnership for UAE produced 38 runs, and took them closer to their target.

Sri Lanka took the sixth UAE wicket in the tenth over when Saqlain Haider was caught by Chandimal for one run. Haider attempted a big slog but only managed to get a top-edge.

UAE were falling away…

UAE lost their fifth wicket in the 8th over, and were totally thrown off-track from their chase by Sri Lanka.

Rangana got his first scalp when Shaiman Anwar failed to deal with a short delivery. Anwar went back to cut but managed an edge to the keeper after scoring 13 runs.

UAE were reeling only four overs into their chase as another double-strike dented their hopes of an upset against their much-vaunted opponent.

Kulasekara rocked UAE in his second over with two wickets. He first sent back Muhammad Kaleem for seven and then dismissed Mohammad Usman for six.

Usman got a thick edge to slip while Kaleem was caught by Mathews at mid-off

UAE were rocked early by the ‘Slinga’ Malinga as the Sri Lankan captain bowled with deadly accuracy from ball one.

Mohammad Shahzad was the second UAE wicket to fall when he was fooled by Malinga’s slower ball. Shahzad attempted a leaden footed drive, was through with the shot before the ball crept under the bat to hit off.

Malinga got his first wicket with his first ball. His full and swinging delivery close to 140ks rapped Rohan in front for naught. A great start for Sri Lanka!

Earlier, UAE managed to restrict Sri Lanka to 129 for eight with a superb display in the field under the lights at Mirpur.

Sri Lanka collapsed after the 68-run opening stand, and lost their last nine wickets for 58 runs.

UAE skipper took three wickets for 25 in four overs. Both Mohammad Naveed and Mohammad Shahzad captured two wickets each.

Sri Lanka lost two wickets in the last over bowled by Shahzad. UAE bowler only gave away six runs and sent back Kapugedera for 10 and Kulasekara for 7 respectively.

UAE took wickets at regular intervals late in the innings, and grabbed their fifth in the 17th over when Sri Lanka’s dependable batter Mathews was trapped in front for eight runs.

Rohan Mustafa got the important scalp of Mathews with a non-turning ball fired in. Mathews couldn’t connect with an ambitious reverse sweep, and the umpire raised his finger.

Sri Lanka lost their fourth wicket with five overs left in their innings. Mohammad Naveed got the better off Shanaka. Shanaka managed five from 11 balls, and just couldn’t get the ball away.

Sri Lanka stumbled in the 14th over, and lost their third wicket, the crucial one of Dinesh Chandimal after the batter had reached his half-century.

Amjad made another impact with the ball, and his contributions allowed UAE to claw back into this game. His back of a length ball outside off brought out the slog from Chandimal, and mid wicket was waiting to grab the catch.

Dinesh Chandimal made 50 from 39 with seven fours and a huge six. He looked most comfortable at the crease, and played some attractive shots on his way to fifty, his second in T201.

Amjad Javed fought back after Sri Lanka enjoyed a superb start, and got the second wicket in the 12th over to the delight of his teammates.

Siriwardana perished to a short ball that cramped him for room. He looked to pull but miscued it deep midwicket where Haider didn’t make any mistake. He scored only six runs.

Sri Lanka stuttered with the two-wicket burst in quick time from UAE.

UAE captain Amjad Javed finally gave his teammates and fans something to cheer about after he managed to stop the Dilshan-Chandimal stand at 68.

Dilshan fell in the tenth over. He tried to pull a short ball outside off and his mis-hit carried to Usman at deep midwicket. Sri Lanka opener scored 27 from 28 with four fours.

Sri Lanka openers Dilshan and Chandimal give their side a strong start against UAE in the second game of the Asia Cup 2015 at Mirpur Stadium.

Sri Lanka opening duo of Dilshan and Chandimal gave their team a strong start against UAE, and exploited the power-play overs extensively.

Both Dilshan and Chandimal were in no-nonsense mood and tried to whack anything in their arc out of the ground.

UAE bowlers failed to stop the run flow as they were too full, and allowed the batters to drive disdainfully.

United Arab Emirates, led by Amjad Javed opted to bowl first and make use of the conditions with the hard, new ball against Sri Lanka led by the ‘Slinga’ Malinga at Mirpur stadium.

The match will be a major test for UAE as they look to continue their good form from the qualifiers, where they won all three matches against Afghanistan, Oman and Hong Kong.

Some new match-winners have emerged, which could help them not be just another Associate participant among the big boys.

After the 2-1 loss in India, Sri Lanka have a chance to ease their way into the Asia Cup by taking on the UAE in their first match.

The return of the captain Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Rangana Herath and Nuwan Kulasekara will give the team a major boost as they look to start gathering themselves ahead of the World T20, where they have a title to defend.

Mirpur had a green top for the Bangladesh-India encounter but it is unlikely that a similar pitch will be greeting Sri Lanka and UAE.

A surface devoid of grass and with slower speed can be expected. There is rain in the forecast but nothing that should threaten the game.

This is the first encounter between Sri Lanka and UAE in T20Is, although the teams have met in ODIs in 2004 and 2008.

Sri Lanka

DSNFG Jayasuriya, TM Dilshan, LD Chandimal (Wicketkeeper), AD Mathews, TAM Siriwardana, CK Kapugedera, MD Shanaka, KMDN Kulasekara, HMRKB Herath, SL Malinga (Captain), PVD Chameera

United Arab Emirates

Rohan Mustafa, Muhammad Kaleem, Mohammad Shahzad, Muhammad Usman, Shaiman Anwar, Amjad Javed (Captain), Saqlain Haider, SP Patil (Wicketkeeper), Qadeer Ahmed, Ahmed Raza, Mohammad Naveed