UAE batter Asif confident ahead of crucial clash vs Afghanistan in tri-series

Both UAE and Afghanistan will look to bounce back when they face off in the third match of the tri-series after the disappointing losses against Pakistan in their respective opening games.

Pakistan defeated both Afghanistan and UAE by 39 and 31 runs respectively to go on top.

The UAE and Afghanistan have a chance to break the duck and register their victory in the tri-series.

The tournament serves as a prelude for all three teams. UAE has been drawn in the same group alongside India and Pakistan for the Asia Cup, which begins on Sept.9.

Middle –order explosive batter, Asif Khan of the UAE, said that they are confident of beating any team in T20s ahead of their crucial clash against Afghanistan.

Despite losing the match by 31 runs while chasing a huge target of 208, Asif khan gave Pakistan a scare with a blazing 35-ball 77 with the help of six towering sixes and as many boundaries.

 “We have been playing good cricket of late in T20 format. When you are playing well, your confidence is high. So we hope to play competitive cricket in the coming matches,” said Asif.

Asif is a veteran UAE batter, who gives stability to the middle-order in case his compatriot and captain Muhammad Waseem is dismissed early on in the innings.

In the match against Pakistan, UAE had lost three wickets for 54 including that of Waseem, when Asif took the charge in hands led the fight back. Asif held the innings and took the match as deep as possible but he could not get the support from the other end.

“Waseem and I are the senior players in the team. The plan of the coach is to take the youngster along. The team is passing through transition, as we know it takes time to build a strong team so we are just trying to do that.

“That is the reason I play down the order to provide more stability to the team,” said Asif.

Asif also blamed the bowlers for conceding too many runs which proved to be costly in the end.

“We have been playing on these pitches throughout the year. We know that a score of 170-180 can be chased on this turf and we planned to restrict Pakistan to that score.

“But, our bowlers failed to stick to the plans and contain Pakistan to that score. They scored 20-25 runs extra which made it difficult for us in the end,” revealed Asif.

Meanwhile, Pakistan batsman Hasan Nawaz, who struck a quick-fire 26-ball 56, played down the absence of Mohamamd Rizwan and Babar Azam from the tem and said that this the best T20 team for Pakistan when asked about the axing of senior players.

“All the youngsters are doing really well. They are working very hard. We work hard even during the off-season. I think this is the best T20 team of Pakistan.

“You cannot control the result. All you can do is just give your best and put in a lot of hard work. After the tri-series, we are looking forward to the Asia Cup,” said Nawaz.

Pakistan tinkered with their playing XI after beating Afghanistan in the opening match. They rested pace spearheads Shaheen Afridi and Harris Rauf and brought in Hasan Ali and Salman Mirza to test their bench strength. Hasan proved to be quite expensive as he conceded 47 runs and took three wickets.

“We are not testing the bench strength. Hasan is a senior player and you can’t call him a bench bowler though he was a little expensive today,” he added.