Ahmed Raza rued a missed opportunity after the UAE passed up a chance for a first series win over a Test nation as they were soundly beaten by Ireland in the second one-day international in Abu Dhabi.
A sparkling individual performance by Simi Singh underpinned Ireland’s 112-run win over the national team at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
The off-spinner made his first half-century in ODI cricket to help the Irish rebuild after a tough start, as they eventually posted 228-6 from their 50 overs.
The home side then capitulated weakly in the face of his slow bowling, as he ended up with five for 10 from his 10 overs, which was the third most economical five-wicket haul in the format.
It was a miserable end to a series that has started so well for the hosts. Their opening-day win, by six wickets, 10 days earlier had been just the second time the UAE head beaten a Test nation in ODI cricket.
They were beset by a series of challenges thereafter. Four of their players tested positive for Covid-19, leading to the next match to be suspended four times.
While they were confined to their hotel rooms for eight days, Ireland had to hastily arrange a practice match against Afghanistan, who they face in three more ODIs in Abu Dhabi, starting on Thursday.
The problems were quickly forgotten, though, when the UAE had their visitors 10 for three early on, with Paul Stirling, Kevin O’Brien and Andy Balbirnie all falling cheaply.
The Irish repaired the damage via a 91-run partnership by Singh and Curtis Campher, who ended as the player of the match and the player of the series respectively.
The UAE crumbled against Singh’s spin, and Raza, the UAE captain, bemoaned a lack of positivity from his side’s batsmen.
“It is a hard one to swallow, but we are not looking to give any excuses – that is not the culture we want in our dressing room,” Raza said.
“We have to take it on the chin, take whatever positives we can from the whole series, and work on the things we need to.
“Intent was lacking [with the bat]. Not to take anything away from Simi, who bowled an exceptional spell, but if we had shown some intent, things could have been a little different.
“Someone had to take that positive option and take ownership of it. It comes down to intent, and that is something we can talk about in our dressing room.
“I see this as an opportunity getting lost, and that is not easy to take.”
The game hinged on Singh’s spell. Only India’s Sunil Joshi and Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan have take nmiserly five-wicket hauls in the history of ODI cricket.
“It was just one of those days where things click for you,” Singh said. “The confidence from the batting comes into the bowling and the plan was pretty simple: bowl as many dot balls as we can, and that was just what I was trying to do.
“Once you get a couple of wickets, you can build pressure and get into a rhythm. I found the right pace for that wicket, and it was just one of those days.”
Balbirnie, Ireland’s captain, said Singh’s effort had been “as good a performance as I’ve seen from an Irish player in an ODI,” and also reserved praise for Campher.
Campher top scored with 56, which was his third half-century in four innings so far in his international career having made two against England last summer.
“Curtis has been incredible since he came into our team in the England series in Southampton, with the ball and the bat,” Balbirnie said.
“He is just very consistent and we always know what we are going to get from him.
“Simi is a brilliant cricketer. Unfortunately, he missed out on the first ODI, but he is always knocking on the door, and whenever he does get his chance, he seems to take that.”
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More on Quran memorisation:
The five pillars of Islam
more from Janine di Giovanni
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
When December 14-17
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
SCORES
Multiply Titans 81-2 in 12.1 overs
(Tony de Zorzi, 34)
bt Auckland Aces 80 all out in 16 overs
(Shawn von Borg 4-15, Alfred Mothoa 2-11, Tshepo Moreki 2-16).
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Lee%20Sang-yong%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Don%20Lee%2C%20Lee%20Jun-hyuk%2C%20Munetaka%20Aoki%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE central contracts
Full time contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid
Part time contracts
Aryan Lakra, Ansh Tandon, Karthik Meiyappan, Rahul Bhatia, Alishan Sharafu, CP Rizwaan, Basil Hameed, Matiullah, Fahad Nawaz, Sanchit Sharma
The UAE squad for the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games
The jiu-jitsu men’s team: Faisal Al Ketbi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Yahia Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Obaid Al Nuaimi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Mansoori, Saeed Al Mazroui, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Qubaisi, Salem Al Suwaidi, Khalfan Belhol, Saood Al Hammadi.
Women’s team: Mouza Al Shamsi, Wadeema Al Yafei, Reem Al Hashmi, Mahra Al Hanaei, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Hessa Thani, Salwa Al Ali.
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
More coverage from the Future Forum
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
RESULTS
Women:
55kg brown-black belt: Amal Amjahid (BEL) bt Amanda Monteiro (BRA) via choke
62kg brown-black belt: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Ffion Davies (GBR) via referee’s decision (0-0, 2-2 adv)
70kg brown-black belt: Ana Carolina Vieira (BRA) bt Jessica Swanson (USA), 9-0
90kg brown-black belt: Angelica Galvao (USA) bt Marta Szarecka (POL) 8-2
Men:
62kg black belt: Joao Miyao (BRA) bt Wan Ki-chae (KOR), 7-2
69kg black belt: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Gianni Grippo (USA), 2-2 (1-0 adv)
77kg black belt: Espen Mathiesen (NOR) bt Jake Mackenzie (CAN)
85kg black belt: Isaque Braz (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE), 2-0
94kg black belt: Felipe Pena (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL), 4-0
110kg black belt final: Erberth Santos (BRA) bt Lucio Rodrigues (GBR) via rear naked choke
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
