Afghanistan beat the UAE by six wickets in the last of three T20 internationals in Abu Dhabi on Sunday night to seal the series.
For fans, the final over was a nail-biter but Karim Janat whacked a six sealing the game in style.
Speaking after the match, Afghanistan’s captain Rashid Khan acknowledged the UAE’s fighting spirit and said: “Credit goes to UAE for putting up a great fight and it’s really pleasing as a captain to end up on the winning side.
“We know (Muhammad) Waseem is a big hitter and we had our plans in place for him. Credit goes to Karim (Janat) and Ibrahim (Zadran) for the way they played, especially Karim who went for the big hits right from the word go.”
UAE captain CP Rizwan said: “Starting with the batting we were in the game. We had a great start and we were in the second innings till the 14th over and credit to Karim Janat, who played some extraordinary shots. He took the game away from us and I can’t really blame my bowlers who did try really hard.”
Put into bat, the UAE were well served by their openers — Muhammad Waseem and Vriitya Aravind who notched up 75 from 50 deliveries (eight boundaries and three sixes) and 59 from 53 balls (seven fours and a six) respectively.
The pair also stitched together a century partnership — 129 from 94 deliveries as the UAE racked up 163-6.
Afghanistan slumped to 86-4 in their pursuit of the target but an 80-run stand for the fifth wicket between opener Ibrahim Zadran and Karim Janat saved the day for the national team as they crossed the line with just five balls to spare.
