Waseem shines as UAE beat Bangladesh, keep hopes alive in three-match T20 series

Riding on a spectacular batting performance by Muhammad Waseem, UAE defeated Bangladesh by two wickets in the second T20I at Sharjah. 

Chasing, UAE got over the line for the loss of eight wickets with 1 ball to spare.

Needing 12 off the last over, Haider Ali hit a six to bring the equation down to four needed off four.

Haider took a couple of the penultimate ball to take them over the line.

Waseem stole the show as he kept the chase alive single-handedly till the 15th over in a topsy-turvy match.

UAE got off to a blazing start as both the openers - Muhamad Waseem and Muhammad Zohaib – put up 107 runs for the first wicket to lay down a strong foundation.

Waseem and Zohaib batted with both patience and aggression as they amassed 72 runs in the first powerplay. 

Waseem was at his usual best as he cantered to his second fifty of the series in just 25 deliveries.

He brought up his 22nd fifty in the T20Is with  a boundary as the UAE looked in control of the match.

Like the UAE bowlers, Bangladesh bowlers were also struggling to stop the flow of the runs. They had already tried five bowlers by the end of the eighth over.

Waseem was ably supported by Zohaib, who played a perfect foil.

Waseem brought up a 100-run partnership with a six off Rishad in 9.2 overs as the UAE reached the half-way mark without loss.

Tanvir Islam brought reprieve to the Bangladesh side by sending back Zohaib, who miscued a shot and holed out to a fielder in the cover.

Rishad got rid of Rahul Chopra in the next over as UAE lost two wickets within the span of three runs.

The two wickets in consecutive overs pushed the UAE on the backfoot briefly as the run rate dropped below ten an over for the first time in the 12th over.

But Waseem took 20 runs off the 13th over, bowled by Rishad, to spur the run rate above 10 again.

Waseem knew it well that the UAE batting was revolving around him and he needed to stay at the crease till the end.

Shorifula Islam dented the UAE’s hopes by getting Waseem caught by wicket-keeper off a slower delivery.

With the dismissal of Waseem, UAE’s hopes of a come-from-behind win all but ended. He smashed nine fours and five sixes during his stint at the crease.

Earlier, Bangladesh’s batsmen were in blistering form. In the absence of the first match centurion Parvez Hossain Emon, Tanzid Hasan and Litton Das gave Bangladesh a fiery start.

Emon, who became the second Bangladeshi batsman to score a century in T20Is after Tamim Iqbal, was ruled out because of a groin injury.

But the make-shift openers Tanzid and Das put on spectacular batting performances to set the tone for a huge total. They stitched a 90-run partnership for the first wicket in just nine overs.

Tanzid played a blitzkrieg knock, studded with immaculate shots  all over the ground, Both the batsmen played sensibly and kept the UAE bowlers at bay.

They kept the scoreboard moving as they toyed with UAE’s bowling attack. Tanzid was the more brutal of the two as his contribution in the 90-run partnership was that of 59 runs.

Tanzid changed his gears after getting his eyes in. He did not spare any bowlers. UAE’s decision of electing to bowl first seemed to be firing back.

UAE bowlers were struggling to check the flow of runs, leave alone taking a wicket. On a batting-friendly Sharjah turf, Bangladesh were cruising along nicely and looked poised to post a huge total of 200 plus.

Tanzid raced to his fifty in just 25 deliveries with the help of seven fours and three sixes, which means 46 of the 50 runs came in boundaries.

UAE were desperately looking to break the partnership. They knew if they had to stay in the match, they needed to break this dangerous-looking partnership.

Debutant Saghir Khan gave the UAE the first breakthrough by getting rid of Tanzid.

The left-handed batsman was caught at the deep-square leg in an attempt to pull a short delivery by the UAE pacer.

He could not manage to get hold of the ball and it landed straight in the safe hands of Matiullah at the boundary rope.

UAE heaved a sigh of relief as they were oblivious of what was in store. Das, who was a dormant partner, flexed his muscles and started to lead the charge.

He added another 35 runs for the second wicket with Najmul Hossain Shantu in just 3.2 overs. The partnership grew fast and had started to look dangerous.

Mohammad Jawadullah, who took four wickets in the last match on his debut, broke the partnership to bring some respite to the UAE camp.

After the departure of Das, Towhid Hridoy took the responsibility and shared a couple of big partnerships to heap more misery on the UAE bowlers.

Hridoy’s 24-ball 45 was studded with three fours and two sixes. He was well supported by Shanto. Jakir Ali’s quickfire cameo of 6-ball 18 took Bangladesh to 205/5.

Jawadullah again put up a spirited performance as he returned with a figure of 3/45, accounting for the dismissals of Das, Shanto and Jakir. His tally of dismissals has reached seven in just two games.

Meanwhile, one more T20 has been added to the on-going tour of Bangladesh to the UAE. Originally, Bangladesh were slated to play two T20Is, but one more match has been added to the series, it was announced by ECB in statement.

It is believed that Bangladesh’s tour of Pakistan is in limbo following the war between India and Pakistan. Though the war has ended but security of the players is still a concern. Both the countries had to cancel their respective cricket leagues briefly before resuming it after the ceasefire.