UAE defeated Malaysia by 124 runs to reach the semfinal of the ICC InterContinental Cup.
Any Nepal had any dream of playing the ICC InterContinental Cup semifinal in Abu Dhabi in November, it was crashed by United Arab Emirates on Sunday who defeated Malaysia by 124 runs in the must-win match.
With the win, UAE topped the Asian table with 50.5 points – 8.5 ahead of second placed Nepal. Malaysia who lost both matches had 23.5 points.
UAE scored 231/9 in the first innings before bowling out Malaysia for 173 runs who were at a time 108/0. UAE declared their second innings at 211/7 setting Malaysian a mammoth target of 270 runs. Malaysia managed only 147 despite fighting 60 from Rakesh Madhavan.
If it was Rakesh Madhavan for Malaysia scoring 48 and 60, Mahammad Tauqir took the limelight for UAE taking 10 wickets in the match. He took four in first and six in second to wreck Malaysian batting. Tauqir was rightly judged man of the match.
UAE will now play Canada in the semifinal while Scotland is waiting for African qualifier – probably Kenya – for the other semifinal.
Brief Scorecard: UAE 231/9d and 211/7d defeated Singapore 173 and 147 by 124 runs.