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Oman and UAE advance to ACC Premier Cup Final
The United Arab Emirates and hosts Oman secured their spots in the final of the ACC Premier Cup at Al Amerat. They defeated Nepal and Hong Kong in the semi-finals, respectively. The upcoming all-Gulf showdown on Sunday will determine which team will join the Full Members at the Asia Cup.
In the morning semi-final, the UAE outplayed Nepal, restricting them to 119/9. Alasan Sharafu’s half-century led the UAE to a comfortable victory with 16 balls and 6 wickets to spare, maintaining their flawless record against Nepal at the ground.
Nepal faced an early setback as Junaid Siddique capitalized on early swing, dismissing Kushal Bhurtel for a duck and conceding just 2 runs in the first over. The UAE’s young seamers, Omid Shafi Rahman and Ali Naseer, supported Siddique well, with each picking up a wicket in their initial spells. As a result, Nepal struggled to reach 38/3 in seven overs.
The spinners maintained the pressure on Nepal, with Basil Hameed being particularly effective, taking 2 wickets for just 4 runs in his two overs. Despite Sundeep Jora’s effort to stabilize the innings with a 40-ball fifty, Nepal lost momentum after his dismissal off leg-spinner Umar Farooq. Although Gulshan Hha and Karan KC tried to launch a late counter-attack, the Emirati seamers returned to finish strongly, restricting Nepal to a below-par total by the innings break.
Despite the improving batting conditions throughout the day, Nepal continued to fight. However, their total never seemed defensible. They managed to make inroads into the UAE top-order, but the runs on the board were insufficient. Alishan Sharafu played a crucial role in guiding the chase, especially after losing captain Muhammad Wasim early to Sompal Kami in the second over. Gulshan Jha dismissed Vishnu Sukumaran and Asif Khan, while Lalit Rajbanshi got Syed Haider LBW before the UAE had reached a hundred.
Nevertheless, Sharafu remained determined. He pulled Jha in front of square to reach his fifty and level the scores, then cut the next ball over backward point for four to secure the win and a spot in the final.
In the second semi-final, a remarkable all-round performance from Aaqib Ilyas led hosts Oman to victory over Hong Kong in a closely contested match. Ilyas’ contribution of 3 for 14 with the ball was followed by a match-winning unbeaten 62 with the bat, making it the standout individual performance in a match that many others involved will likely want to forget.
Hong Kong faced early setbacks in their innings, with Kaleemullah claiming the first breakthrough by dismissing Martic Coetzee caught behind, followed by Bilal Khan removing Anshuman Rath. Ilyas’ entry into the attack after the powerplay added to Hong Kong’s woes, as his blend of off-spin and wrist-spin accounted for the rest of the top order. He completed his four-over spell without conceding a boundary. Zeeshan Ali provided some resistance with an unbeaten 36 at number seven, but Hong Kong’s total of 130/9 seemed well below par at the innings break.
Hong Kong’s hopes were reignited with another first-ball wicket as Kashyap Prajapati was caught behind off Ayush Shukla. Despite losing wickets at the other end, Aaqib Ilyas stood firm. Aizaz Khan’s three consecutive wickets slowed the scoring, but missed run-out opportunities and dropped catches prolonged Ilyas’ innings. He was given another chance just after reaching his half-century, with the match poised at 121/5 with seven balls left. However, Ilyas only needed two more runs to seal the chase. He hit Shukla for a six over midwicket on the first ball of the final over, followed by a four off a wide delivery next ball.
With this result, both the UAE and Oman have secured a spot in the 2024 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup, scheduled for November in Sri Lanka. They will be joined by full member ‘A’ teams and the winner of the third-place play-off between Hong Kong and Nepal. The winner of Sunday’s final will also qualify for the Asia Cup itself.
