Pakistan vs UAE – Highlights, Asia Cup T20 2016: Malik, Akmal Fifties Power Pakistan to Seven-Wicket Win

Pakistan register an amazing victory to get their Asia Cup T20 campaign back on track after a shaky start. Catch all highlights here. (SCORECARD | POINTS TABLE | NEWS)

2221 hrs IST: BREAKING NEWS – Bangladesh suffer a massive setback as paceman Mustafizur Rahman is ruled out of the tournament due to a side strain.

2216 hrs IST: That’s That! Pakistan beat UAE by seven wickets to register their first win in the competition. Shoaib Malik 68* and Umar Akmal 50* put on 114 runs for the fourth wicket to help Pakistan record their first points.

2201 hrs IST! FIFTY! Shoaib Malik reaches his fifth half-century in style. Hits a massive six to reach the milestone.

2159 hrs IST: DROPPED! Shoaib Malikl dropped on 41 off Mohammad Shahzad. Pakistan 91 for three in 15.5 overs.

2151 hrs IST: FIFTY STAND! Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal have put on 58 runs for the fourth wicket. Pakistan 75 for three in 14 overs.

2137 hrs IST: Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal have added 36 runs for the fourth wicket to lift Pakistan to 48 for three in 10 overs.

2120 hrs IST: Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal have been batting cautiously after Amjad Javed’s three early wickets.

2102 hrs IST: WICKET! Amjad Javed is breathing fire at the moment. This time he gets the big man Mohammad Hafeez for 11. Hafeez tries to drive it through covers but plays a straight to Fawad Tariq at cover. Pakistan 17/3 in 3.1 overs.

2055 hrs IST: Amjad Javed gets early wickets for UAE. Removes Sharjeel Khan and Khurram Manzoor in his first over. Pakistan 11/2 in 2 overs chasing 130.

2025 hrs IST: That’s it! UAE have posted a fighting 129 for six. Just not the kind of performance Pakistan would have expected from their bowlers. Mohammad Amir once again was the pick of the bowlers as he finished with two for six from his four overs. Mohammad Irfan also picked up a couple of wickets while Mohammad Sami and Shahid Afridi chipped in with a wicket each. For UAE, Shaiman Anwar top scored with 46 while Amjad Javed (27*) and Muhammad Usman (21) played crucial knocks.

2011 hrs IST: Muhammad Usman 17* and Amjad Javed 26* have batted well for their 42-run stand for the sixth wicket. They have punished the poor balls and have also rotated the strike. UAE 101 for five in 17 overs.

1954 hrs IST: WICKET! Shaiman Anwar departs after scoring 46. He looked in superb touch and entertained the crowd with some lusty blows. Mohammad Irfan gets his second and UAE are 72 for 5 in 13.4 overs.

1944 hrs IST: WICKET! Shahid Afridi breaks the growing partnership as he gets rid of Usman Mushtaq for 9. He goes down on his knees to sweep but mistimes it big time. The balls take the top edge of the bat an debutant Mohammad Nawaz takes a good catch at short fine leg. UAE 41/4 in 11 overs.

1934 hrs IST: Shaiman Anwar is taking the attack back to the bowlers. He welcomes Mohammad Nawaz with a massive six over extra cover.

1920 hrs IST: WICKET! Mohammad Irfan joins the party as he gets Mohammad Shahzad for five. Shahzad looks to defend but the extra bounce off the surface takes his outside edge. UAE 12/3 in four overs.

1912 hrs IST: WICKET! Amir is back to what he does best…get wickets! He came round the stumps to clean bowl Muhammad Kaleem for 1. Kaleem ties to work it down to the third man but misses is completely. UAE 5/2 in 2.4 overs.

1909 hrs IST: WICKET! Rohan Mustafa lobs an easy catch to Shahid Afridi at mid-off off Mohammad Sami. Mustafa dances down the track but ends up miscuing it to the Pakistan skipper for an easy catch. UAE 5/1 in 2 overs.

1905 hrs IST: STAT! This the 100th Twenty20 international for Pakistan.

1902 hrs IST: Mohammad Amir starts but is not looking that lethal tonight. Mohammad Sami joins him in the attack. UAE 1/0 in 1 over.

1845 hrs IST: TEAMS

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Sharjeel Khan, Khurram Manzoor, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan

UAE: Rohan Mustafa, Muhammad Kaleem, Mohammad Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Muhammad Usman, SP Patil, Amjad Javed, Fahad Tariq, Ahmed Raza, Usman Mushtaq, Mohammad Naveed

1835 hrs IST: TOSS! UAE have won the toss and they will bat first against Pakistan, who have rested Wahab Riaz. Mohammad Nawaz makes debut.

After suffering a 45-run humiliating defeat against India, Pakistan face a must-win situation against Asia Cup qualifiers UAE at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. The two-time champions will start overwhelming favourites but Pakistan must guard against complacency and more importantly, the propensity to disintegrate for no rhyme or reason.

They have played three ODIs before, but this will be the first T20 international between Pakistan and UAE. Man-for-man, there is no doubt why Pakistan is a much superior side. In Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal and skipper Shahid Afridi, Pakistan have a formidable batting line-up but what gives the former Asia Cup champions the cutting edge is their pace bowling unit.

Mohammad Amir is on a dream comeback after five years in exile. He even won Virat Kohli’s praise when the left-arm pacer wrecked the Indian top order on Saturday. Had Pakistan scored 30 runs more – they managed a poor 83 – they would have pushed India for sure.

The wickets in Mirpur have aided the quick bowlers. UAE’s strength have been their bowling too but it is unlikely Hafeez, Malik and Akmal will not put a price on their wicket in a crunch game. The ex-world champions should read the wicket better on Monday.

If UAE bat first, they have to do much better than their 82 (against Bangladesh) and 115 (versus Sri Lanka) so far. Skipper Amjad Javed will have to play the innings of his life for Emirates.

Source: NDTV