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UAE and Ireland are set to lock horns in the third match of the UAE Summer T20 Bash 2021 on Thursday at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai.
Ireland made an impressive start to the T20 Bash, beating UAE by seven wickets in their opening match on Thursday. After electing to bat first, UAE could never get going, as Ireland restricted them to an under-par score of 123-7 in twenty overs.
Muhammad Usman and Vriitya Aravind stitched together a partnership of 47 runs for the fourth wicket off 40 balls. But barring that stand, the rest of the batting unit floundered. Usman top-scored for the hosts, having scored 35 runs off 32 balls with three fours and a six.
Eventually, Kashif Daud’s 17 and captain Ahmed Raza’s 12 took UAE past the 120-run mark. Curtis Campher was the standout bowler for Ireland, finishing with figures of 4-1-19-3. Benjamin White was also impressive, picking up two wickets for 24 runs in four overs.
Ireland pushed UAE on the backfoot in their run chase. Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien put on 90 runs for the opening wicket off 12.5 overs. Stirling carried on with his decent run of form, scoring 53 off 46 with six fours and two sixes. O’Brien made 46 with three fours and six.
Although Basil Hameed got rid of both openers in quick succession, the writing was already on the wall for the UAE. Hameed also went on to dismiss opposition captain Andy Balbirnie. Eventually, Ireland chased down the target with seven balls to spare.
Can UAE come back strong in the next game?
The UAE used as many as eight bowlers in their previous game, but only Hameed had a bit of success. Zahoor Khan and Kashif Daud were economical, but couldn’t make inroads in the opposition batting.
UAE’s batting also looked far from its best. Ireland, meanwhile, have an in-form bowling attack, so it’s not going to be easy for UAE by any stretch of imagination. Ireland will start as favourites.
Prediction: Ireland to win the match.
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