Aravind hits 96 as UAE start campaign with win

Gulf Today Report

Vriitya Aravind smashed 96 off 67 balls as UAE defeated Ireland by 19 runs at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground on Oman on the opening day of the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup qualifier. UAE won the toss and elected to bat first.

They were in early trouble as they lost the experienced Chirag Suri in the very first over before fellow opener Muhammad Waseem followed him to the pavilion.

Walking in at No.3, Aravind put on a one-man show and single-handedly dragged UAE to a competitive total. He stitched a vital 38-run stand with Rohan Mustafa to bail the team out of trouble.

Aravind was on 58 off 50 at the end of the 16th over with UAE at 100/4 before he teed off in the final four overs. He smashed the bowlers to all parts and added 39 more runs in 17 deliveries to finish on 97* off 67, helping UAE reach 157/5. With a competitive target to scale, Ireland began with intent, taking the UAE bowlers to the cleaners.

Paul Stirling looked in his usual terrific form, pairing with Andrew Balbirnie to race to 50/0 in six overs. But things rapidly spiralled out of control when Karthik Meiyappan removed Stirling for 32 on the first ball of the seventh over. He then dismissed Gareth Delany in his next over for 3 and then cleaned up Simi Singh in the next for 4.

Having slipped to 66/4 from 50/0, Ireland needed a solid stand to boost them. The Ireland middle order did play some wonderful shots, but the UAE bowlers ensured that Ireland were kept in check. Shane Getkate (17) and Lorcan Tucker (25) tried to revive the Irish innings but the UAE bowlers had the last laugh. In the end, the target proved too daunting as Ireland were restricted to 139/9, losing the match by 18 runs.