MELBOURNE: After losing to Sri Lanka handily by 79 runs, the UAE was all but eliminated from the T20 World Cup.
The UAE needed to defeat Asia Cup champion Sri Lanka in order to have any chance of moving on to the Super 12s stage of the competition after their narrow loss to the Netherlands on the opening day.
The UAE was all out for 73 despite a magical bowling performance from Karthik Meiyappan, who made history by becoming the first player from the UAE to ever take a T20I hat-trick.
At the conclusion of the game, Meiyappan said, “Lately, our batting hasn’t clicked, and that is something that we have to be concerned about. First off, it felt like the batters could have cashed in today as 152 on that wicket felt like it was quite chaseable. Second, to only put up 112 against the Netherlands.
As a result, the UAE are virtually eliminated from the tournament and remain winless in T20 World Cups after going 0-2 in Australia and dropping all three of their games during their last qualification campaign in 2014.
Geelong has had low scoring games thus far because runs have been difficult to come by on the slow wicket and thick outfield.
Thus, when Sri Lanka got off to a fast start after winning the toss and choosing to field, the UAE had reason for concern. The score after five overs was 47-1, with the first batsman Pathum Nissanka (74 off 60) setting the early tone.
The pair appeared to be easily directing the game in Sri Lanka’s favor with Dhanjaya de Silva, as they brought the score to 92-1 after 11 overs and then 117-2 after 15.
Then, in the UAE’s best moment of the match, chaos would break out as Meiyappan, a 22-year-old leg spinner who trained with Royal Challengers Bangalore of the Indian Premier League in 2021, became the first player from the UAE to ever take a T20I hat-trick and only the fifth player to do so at a T20 World Cup.
After removing Charith Asalanka and captain Dasun Shanaka with successive googlies, he first had Banuka Rajapaksa caught at deep cover. Meiyappan made a joyful lap of the field after the final wicket, which ripped through bat and pad.
Meiyappan said, “It still hasn’t sunk in that I have a hat-trick in a T20 World Cup and to be the first UAE bowler to do so.” It’s an amazing feeling and a really proud moment.
Aayan Khan, 16, caught Wanindu Hasaranga on the boundary to give Sri Lanka 120-6 and put the match in doubt. Things would get even better for the UAE as they would take a fourth wicket in seven balls.
However, a late flourish from Nissanka would lift Sri Lanka to a respectable final total of 152-8, so that would be as good as it got.
In response, the UAE needed to get off to a strong start, but their pursuit was quickly derailed when Sri Lankan fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera took three wickets in the powerplay before Chirag Suri was bowled by Pramod Liyanagamage, leaving the UAE at 21-4 and the game all but over before the UAE’s actual innings had even begun.
No relenting from Sri Lanka would occur either, as the addition of spin and Hasaranga (4-1-8-3) to the attack made matters worse for the UAE as the wickets kept falling frequently. Suri (14), Aayan Khan (19), and Junaid Siddique (18) were the only batters out of the 11 who entered the crease to reach double figures.
The main objective, according to Meiyappan, was to make the Super 12s. “Obviously, making the World Cup was an achievement in and of itself,” he added.
As of right now, I believe that we will be focusing our preparations on the 2023 World Cup in India.
The outcome means that Sri Lanka will play the Netherlands in what will essentially be a knockout match in two days to determine who advances to the next round. In contrast, the UAE will play Namibia to wrap up their competition, needing a mathematically miraculous set of results to advance.
Source: UAE News
