UAE suffer five-wicket defeat to USA as winless run in tri-series continues

UAE’s dismal run continued in the ongoing ODI tri-series as they suffered their third successive defeat of the series against USA on Monday, October 11, at Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas. After being put in to bat first, UAE were bundled out for 213, with Muhammad Shahdad (79 off 105) playing a stellar innings, along with a useful contribution from captain Harpreet Singh (48 off 53).

For USA, Shubham Ranjane (4/39) and Saurabh Netravalkar (3/23) ran through UAE’s batting lineup. In reply, USA comfortably chased down the target in 38.4 overs courtesy of a phenomenal innings from Shehan Jayasuriya (83 off 95). Only Muhammad Arfan (3/38) showed some fight with the ball for UAE, but it didn’t prove enough to take them over the victory line.

Earlier, UAE lost both openers Tanish Suri (1 off 4) and Adeeb Usmani (12 off 33) cheaply, before Muhammad Shahdad and Harpreet Singh added 98 runs for the third wicket off 103 balls. With the partnership flourishing, Hasan Khan came to USA’s rescue, dismissing Harpreet Singh for 48.

Following his departure, none of the batters could support Muhammad Shahdad in the middle as UAE lost their last eight wickets for 82 runs. In the second innings, USA got an early blow with captain Monank Patel (0 off 2) losing his stumps on just the second ball of the innings against Muhammad Arfan.

UAE reeling at bottom

However, Shehan Jayasuriya ensured there were no hiccups in the chase as he held one end and stitched crucial partnerships with Smit Patel (25 off 45), Sanjay Krishnamurthi (28 off 36) and Milind Kumar (27 off 23).

Following their defeat, UAE continue to reel at the bottom of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 table with eight wins from 32 matches, having 19 points to their name.