IRE VS UAE MATCH 1

That's a wrap to this game. Get ready for a double-header on Monday. Oman will be facing United Arab Emirates at 11.30 am IST (6 am GMT) and Ireland will take on Nepal at 3.30 pm IST (10 am GMT). Do join us in advance for the build-up. In the meanwhile, you can switch tabs to follow all the updates from the second T20I between Australia and Sri Lanka at the SCG. Cheers!

Ahmed Raza, the captain of United Arab Emirates, says that he could not have asked for anything more. Tells that they showed a lot of character, they fielded well and they had a great day overall. Praises Karthik Meiyappan and mentions that as a captain, he is spoilt for choices. Shares that the leggie has been with them for the last two years but they have not played much as a team. Counts the players like Karthik Meiyappan and Vriitya Aravind as huge positives. States that they tend to take the effort of Zahoor Khan for granted but he does it day in and day out and nails his yorkers superbly at the death.

Rohan Mustafa is the Player of the Match for his all-round show! Says that he loves to perform against Ireland and hopes to maintain the same form. Adds that they have been playing for the last two years and the team has gelled well. Tells that during the COVID times, they kept on training and that has helped them to remain fit.

Andy Balbirnie, the captain of Ireland, says that they should have won the game as they had a good Powerplay. Admits that they struggled in the middle overs and this is certainly an area they can improve. Adds that it was not an easy wicket to come and score straightaway and takes the blame for not continuing with his knock. Mentions that 160 would have been gettable but they leaked a few runs too many at the end.

Presentation time...

Earlier in the match, Rohan Mustafa and Vriitya Aravind were the nuclei of the batting for United Arab Emirates. Their knocks and the 94-run stand offered them a stable platform and Kashif Daud's blitz in the end overs pumped their score to 178 which proved to be just enough to outclass Ireland.

United Arab Emirates fought back in the middle overs through their spinners. Ahmed Raza and Karthik Meiyappan pulled things back and the latter picked up a couple of wickets as well. The departure of Andy Balbirnie when 90 runs were needed put immense pressure on Ireland and they needed a partnership to not just bail them out but also drive them home. Lorcan Tucker and Curtis Campher tried their best to form an alliance but Campher failed to find the boundaries and his strike rate hurt the momentum of the Irish innings. Still, with 46 needed off 30 balls, the ball was in Ireland's court but some outstanding bowling at the death helped UAE emerge on top. A special mention for Zahoor Khan who went for 19 runs in his opening over but redeemed himself at the backend.

The chase for Ireland started on the worst possible note. A terrible miscommunication resulted in the run out of Paul Stirling and the reaction of Paul would have put some extra pressure on Andy Balbirnie in this big chase. The Irish skipper though flourished with his strokeplay and received good support from Gareth Delany who donned the avatar of Paul Stirling in the Powerplay and ended up hammering 40 runs off only 20 balls. After a strong start, despite losing Delany in the sixth over, Ireland had the upper hand.

United Arab Emirates have registered an impressive win! This was THE contest of the quadrangular series and by winning it, UAE have shown that they are on the right path. They have edged out Ireland by 13 runs and those 23 runs conceded in the final over while bowling has haunted the Irish team.

A slower ball, on a length, outside off. Simi Singh is beaten by the lack of pace. He throws his bat at it and gets a bottom edge behind. The keeper collects it on one bounce. United Arab Emirates win by 13 runs.

Fuller and on middle. Adair smacks it to long on, only for a single.

Full ball, almost a yorker outside off. Mark Adair fails to get any bat on it. Fantastic over from Zahoor Khan.

Simi Singh is the new batsman but he will not be on strike.

OUT! RUN OUT! A slower bouncer from Khan, on middle. Curtis looks to pull but misses. Adair calls for a bye and Curtis responds late. The keeper throws the ball to Khan who runs back and flicks the bails off. Campher departs. A wide is given as well for height.

Swing and a miss! Curtis Campher tries to sweep a fuller-length ball, which is around off. He fails to connect and the Free Hit goes in vain.

Zahoor Khan is down, perhaps struggling with his left ankle. The physio is tending to him. Will this break hurt the momentum of United Arab Emirates? 16 needed off 4 balls. The hammer is out to level the loose surface near the bowler's landing area. We resume and here comes the Free Hit...

NO BALL! Ohh, dear! A full ball, outside off, it's driven to long off for a single. A no ball called for overstepping and a Free hit will follow. 16 needed off 4 deliveries.

A yorker now, on middle. Curtis squeezes it straight down the ground for a single. 18 needed now off 4 balls.