Australia didn’t break much sweat in their one-off T20I against the United Arab Emirates, easing to a seven-wicket victory in Abu Dhabi.
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While for Australia it was an opportunity to fine-tune their limited-overs skills ahead of their three-match T20I series against Pakistan, for the home side it was a chance to make a mark against an international force.
Unfortunately for UAE, they couldn’t put their best foot forward. Australia restricted them to 117/6 in 20 overs after being asked to field, and then, D’Arcy Short’s 53-ball 68* helped them finish off the chase in 16.1 overs.
Australia win by seven wickets!
UAE made them work hard, at one point reducing them to 31/2, but D’Arcy Short’s 68* saw them home with 23 balls to spare.#UAEvAUS SCORE ⬇https://t.co/UJAs4vMiW3 pic.twitter.com/d19wsh5LR7
— ICC (@ICC) October 22, 2018
UAE could never quite get going after suffering early blows. They were two down without getting a run on the board within the first two overs, with Ashfaq Ahmed and captain Rohan Mustafa being dismissed by Nathan Coulter-Nile and Billy Stanlake respectively.
When Chirag Suri, having steadily scored a 20-ball 13, became Stanlake’s second victim, UAE were reduced to 17/3.
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For a while thereafter it was a matter of ensuring the slide didn’t turn into a full-blown implosion. Rameez Shahzad and Shaiman Anwar managed to do that, putting on a 53-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Fifty for D’Arcy Short as he pulls a short ball to the boundary, coming in 41 balls. Australia now just 16 away from the win #UAEvAUS pic.twitter.com/KaCRPMnENg
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) October 22, 2018
Shahzad was happy rotating strike and running between wickets, but Anwar was a lot more adventurous – his 44-ball 41 comprised three fours and two sixes, and had he hung around for a bit longer, UAE might have ended up with a bigger total.
As it turned out, both batsmen fell in quick succession – Shahzad (22 off 33) became Coulter-Nile’s second victim, and Anwar became Andrew Tye’s first.
Read More: Australia to face United Arab Emirates in a T20I on Monday
At 82/5 in the 18th over, there was a real risk of the home side being restricted to below 100, but Mohammad Naveed came in at No.7 and hammered a 13-ball 27, including two fours and as many sixes.
Ben McDermott brings up the winning runs as D’Arcy Short finishes unbeaten on 68 from 53 balls. Australia by seven wickets #UAEvAUS pic.twitter.com/4fOoHYqwkg
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) October 22, 2018
It boosted UAE’s total, but it was never going to be much of a threat to Australia, even after Amir Hayat, the medium-pacer, had captain Aaron Finch dismissed for a six-ball 1. The big-hitting Chris Lynn was also sent back for a 13-ball 20 as was Glenn Maxwell (18 off 16), but all the while, Short kept things steady at one end.
Short ensured the run-rate never suffered. He added 26 with Lynn, 43 with Maxwell, and soon brought up his half-century – his fourth in T20Is – off just 41 deliveries.
It didn’t take the visitors long to bring up the winning runs – the debutant Ben McDermott had that honour – with Short finishing his 53-ball knock with eight fours.
The first T20I against Pakistan will be played at the same venue on Thursday.
