Markable

Afghanistan emerged triumphant in the Asian Cricket Council Premier League 2014, lifting the title after a 108-run win over Nepal via the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-affected encounter on Wednesday (May 7), the fifth and final day of the tournament.

The win took Afghanistan’s tally to eight points, the most by any team in the competition, after four wins in five games.

Dawlat Zadran, the right-arm pacer, was instrumental in delivering victory for Afghanistan, returning match-winning figures of 4 for 26 in seven overs to restrict Nepal to 128 for 9 in its allotted 32 overs. Earlier, Afghanistan’s top order came good as the team put up a healthy total of 262 in 49.3 overs. Rain interrupted Nepal’s chase, already rocked by Dawlat’s early strikes, and it was then set a target of 237 in 32 overs at the Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur.

All of Afghanistan’s top three made solid contributions, setting the base for a good total. Noor Ali Zadran (43 off 59) and Usman Ghani (51 off 61) put on 98 for the opening wicket in 19.1 overs, and Hashmatullah Shahidi contributed 51 off 77 to hold the innings together after both openers departed in quick succession. Mohammad Nabi, the captain, also chipped in with a vital contribution down the order, hitting 34 off 25 from No.6 to push the score along.

For Nepal, Shakti Gauchan and Basant Regmi picked up six wickets between them, with Gauchan returning figures of 3 for 39 in ten overs, while Regmi finished with 3 for 45 in 8.3 overs. Aarif Sheikh took 2 for 39 in eight overs, while Sompal Kami, who opened the bowling, and Raj Pradhan took a wicket each.

Nepal’s chase got off to a shaky start, Dawlat taking four of Nepal’s top five batsman to ensure Afghanistan had the upper hand from the beginning. Rain halted play in the 17th over, with Nepal 56 for 5, and already facing a steep ask.

Paras Khadka, the captain, made a battling 33 off 51 balls, but he was the only one who held firm for Nepal.

Elsewhere at the Bayuemas Oval, United Arab Emirates beat Oman by 57 runs to finish third on the points table with its third win in the tournament. UAE’s bowlers rose to the occasion after its innings had ended on 162 all out in 38.4 overs, bowling Oman out for just 105 in 38 overs.

Kamran Shazad and Fayyaz Ahmed led the way for UAE, taking three wickets each.

Put in, UAE was on the back foot early when Munis Ansari struck a double blow in the seventh over, getting Amjad Ali and Khurram Khan, the captain. Mohammad Shahzad, who had shared a 41-run opening stand with Ali, then built a 47-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Krishnachandran Karate. Shahzad hit his first half-century of the tournament, while Ansari returned figures of 4 for 43 in nine overs.

Oman had reached 75 or 3 in the 23rd over, having overcoming early strikes, before a collapse ensued. Oman lost its last seven wickets for the addition of only 30 runs, as UAE won comfortably in the end. Mohammad Naveed was also among the wickets, picking up a couple, to complement Kamran and Fayyaz.

At the Selangor Turf Club, Hong Kong’s bowlers backed their captain Jamie Atkinson’s decision to field first, coming up with a collective effort to bowl Malaysia out for 184 in 46.5 overs, allowing the batsmen to complete a four-wicket win, Hong Kong’s first of the tournament .

Malaysia’s innings was built around a 66-run sixth wicket stand between Khizar Hayat (37) and Hammadullah Khan (38), but that was the only partnership of note.

Nadeem Ahmed, the left-arm spinner, returned figures of 3 for 28 in 8.5 overs for Hong Kong, while Tanwir Afzal and Irfan Ahmed, who opened the bowling, took two wickets each. Nizakat Khan and Waqas had a wicket apiece.

Hong Kong lost Irfan Ahmed early during its chase. Waqas (44) and Nizakat (37), however, added to their good work with the ball to stitch together a 67-run stand for the second wicket in just 58 balls. The duo departed in quick succession, following which Atkinson (22) and Babar Hayat (45) came together for a 53-run stand for the fourth wicket that took their team closer to the target.

Shahrulnizam Yusof, the left-arm spinner, accounted for two wickets, giving away 43 runs in ten overs, but it was Khizar Hayat who stood out, his off-spin fetching him returns of 2 for 29. 

One of the biggest challenges facing Sri Lanka, according to Angelo Mathews, in the first bit of this six-week tour of the United Kingdom, is to attune to the early-season conditions it’ll encounter. While the thermals remained very much a necessity in Dublin, Sri Lanka warmed to the task laudably to record what was in the end a very comfortable 79-run victory over Ireland in its first One-Day International on Tuesday (May 6).

It was, however, another case of what could have been for Ireland as the hardy punters, who braved the piercing early-May elements, headed home disappointed. At the halfway stage, it would have harboured hopes of another famous scalp – to add to its lengthening list – and a first on home soil, with good reason too.

A dogged and unrelenting bowling display from Ireland – restricting Sri Lanka to 219 for 8 – had made it favourites on a surface that yielded full value for shots. Not for the first time, though, Ireland was left to rue a missed opportunity. From the moment Nuwan Kulasekara bowled Paul Stirling in the second over of the chase, the odds on an upset lengthened.

William Porterfield and Niall O’Brien steadied proceedings thereafter but a five-over period, in which Ireland went from 63 for 2 to 74 for 6, drained any life from the innings and prompted many of those in the stands to seek refuge in the warmth of an inner sanctuary.

For Marvan Atapattu, the newly appointed Sri Lanka head coach, it was a satisfactory if not perfect start to his reign. There would be reservations about the application of some of the batsmen in conditions likely to be faced across the water, but a defeat to an associate nation in his first game in charge was avoided.

The most pleasing aspect of the win for the new management will, nonetheless, be the manner in which it was achieved. With many of their stalwarts missing, the second rung stood up and showcased its proficiency at the highest level.

It was, however, a couple of proven performers that wrestled the ascendancy from the vigorous hosts in the space of a couple of overs. Having bludgeoned an unbeaten 42 with the bat, Kulasekara bowled with great discipline on his way to two wickets, while Ajantha Mendis and Suranga Lakmal took three apiece to run through the Ireland order.

Lakmal found the edge of Ed Joyce, for a duck, and then returned to account for the dangerous Kevin O’Brien, who mistimed a pull straight to midwicket first ball, and then Alex Cusack. By that stage, Ireland’s hopes had gone on the back of an ultimately decisive five-over period. Niall O’Brien had played positively and looked in good touch as he crunched five boundaries around the ground but he became Mendis’s first victim on 33.

His departure sparked a collapse. The next over, a horrible mix-up between Porterfield and Gary Wilson ended with both batsmen finding themselves at the same end, and although Porterfield tried to sacrifice his wicket, it was Wilson who had to go. Porterfield tried to atone for his error but only managed to swat Mendis to Kusal Perera at deep midwicket for 37 either side of the wickets of Stuart Thompson and Cusack. The tail provided some late resistance but only added gloss to the scorecard that showed Ireland’s lowest total – 140 all out – at the North Dublin venue in ODIs.

Earlier, there was little surprise that Porterfield, upon winning the toss, asked Sri Lanka to bat on a surface that was expected to aim the seamers. The Ireland bowlers managed to utilise the favourable conditions from the outset as Tim Murtagh struck in the first over to set the tone for what was to follow.

After Perera had trudged back to the pavilion, caught at second slip by Kevin O’Brien, Lahiru Thirimanne and Dinesh Chandimal dropped anchor. They was watchful, but after managing to negotiate the initial onslaught neither could kick on.

Porterfield rotated his bowlers to great effect as Ireland managed to take wickets at regular intervals to maintain a stranglehold on the proceedings. Mathews threatened to wrestle back some ascendancy but his charmed existence came to an end on 30 when Niall O’Brien ran him out brilliantly. The departure of the captain, however, provided the platform for the lower-order batsmen to free their arms.

First, Kulasekara swatted Cusack over mid-on for a flat six and, in the same over, dabbed one down to third man for a second boundary. Ashan Priyanjan, who scored an impressive 31, ably supported him.

Mendis added some late gloss with a flurry of boundaries, including an incredible reverse sweep off fast bowler Max Sorensen in the final over, to thrust his side up past 200.

At the end of play, Mathews admitted he was “always confident of defending the total”, but he could never have envisaged it was going to be that easy.

Afghanistan strode to its second convincing win, this time by 70 runs against the United Arab Emirates on Friday (May 2), the second day of the Asian Cricket Council Premier League.

The win was set up by Samiullah Shenwari (82 not out off 68 balls) and captain Mohammad Nabi (77 off 57 balls), who helped Afghanistan post a mammoth 302 for 5 in 50 overs after Khurram Khan, the UAE captain, elected to field first at the Kinrara Academy Oval in Kuala Lumpur.  Rahmat Shah’s leg-breaks, which fetched him 5 for 32 in 5.3 overs, then ensured that the team built on the good work of its batsmen to bowl UAE out for 232 in 44.3 overs.
Noor Ali Zadran (53) and Usman Ghani (55) gave Afghanistan a good start with a 99-run opening stand in 22.5 overs. However, the advantage quickly shifted in favour of UAE, as some quick strikes reduced Afghanistan to 124 for 4 in 29.4 overs. Shenwari and Nabi then came together for a 125-run stand off just 99 balls. Nabi fell in the 47th over when he was caught off Mohammad Naveed.
Shenwari carried on, and in the company of Shafiqullah (14 not out off 5 balls), the wicketkeeper-batsman helped Afghanistan amass 53 runs in the last 3.5 overs.
Khurram and Ahmed Raza both accounted for two wickets with their left-arm spin. Khurram finished with match figures of 2 for 33 in eight overs, while Raza ended his quota with figures of 2 for 50.
Amjad Ali, who came out to open for UAE, anchored its chase. He was the dominant partner in a 70-run opening stand with Salman Faris (27). When Khurram (28) joined Amjad, the opener again dominated in an 86-run fourth wicket stand off 83 balls. He eventually departed in the 32nd over, falling two short of a century, trapped in front by Rahmat.
Krishnachandran Karate then got off to a start, but he quickly ran out of partners and was left unbeaten on 22, as UAE was eventually bowled out with 33 balls left.
Although Rahmat was, by far, the biggest star with the ball, most of Afghanistan’s bowlers made a contribution, with Shapoor Zadran, Dawlat Zadran, Mirwais Ashraf, Mohammad Nabi and Amir Hamza, all chipping in with a wicket each.