U.A.E beat Namibia by 36 runs – I-Cup

UAE 269 (Mufti 110, Shahzad 40, Smit 4-37, Burger 3-44) and 157 (Suri 41, Williams 5-22) beat Namibia 212 (Erasmus 78*, Raza 6-61) and 180 (Williams 48, Mustafa 3-38, Raza 2-45) by 34 runs

Left-arm spinner Ahmed Raza’s match haul of eight wickets helped UAE wrap up a 34-run victory over Namibia, inside three days, at the Wanderers Cricket Ground in Windhoek.

Chasing 215, Namibia were bowled out for 180 with Raza dismissing top scorer Craig Williams (48) and opener Stephan Baard (12). Rohan Mustafa and Imran Haider took care of the middle order and lower, picking up five wickets between them.

The win was set up by Adnan Mufti’s maiden first-class hundred – 110 off 186 balls – which guided the side to a 57-run first-innings lead. His knock came after UAE were reduced to 74 for 4 after they had opted to bat. He added 94 with Rameez Shahzad to revive the side before marshalling the tail. He hit 13 fours before he was the ninth UAE batsman to be dismissed. JJ Smit was the pick of the bowlers for Namibia, returning 4 for 37 in the first innings. Petrus Burger, the debutant, complemented him with 3 for 44.

In reply, Namibia started positively with Baard and Lohan Louwrens adding 65 for the first wicket. Raza then sparked a collapse of 44 for 6 to leave Namibia on the ropes. Gerhard Erasmus, the No. 6 batsman, though, mounted a fightback, scoring 78 off 112 balls to cut the deficit. Raza finished with 6 for 61 in the second innings – his fourth five-wicket haul in his 19th first-class game.

UAE suffered a collapse of their own in their second innings – courtesy Williams’ five-for – falling from 57 for 1 to 157 all out, but their bowlers stepped up again in defence of 214 – and handed their team 20 points.

 

Scorecard:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8074/scorecard/1105001/Namibia-vs-United-Arab-Emirates–icc-intercontinental-cup/

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