The brave people of the UAE return home with their heads held high

The UAE cricket team poses at a dinner hosted by Abdulla Al Subousi, UAE Ambassador in Geelong.

Mohammad Abdullah, Senior Sports Reporter

After a brief but historic sojourn, the UAE’s Braves returned from Down Under with pride on their faces as they traded at the pinnacle of cricket’s spectacle – the T20 World Cup.

Not only did the UAE qualify for the World Cup, but they also won at the showcase event. It took them six games and a long wait of more than eight years to break the World Cup doom.

The UAE took their first victory over high-profile Namibia at the T20 World Cup. They beat the Netherlands in the Over-50 World Cup when they made their World Cup debut in 1996.

However, after a long wait of 26 years, they replicated their feat in another form on their second attempt. The UAE qualified for the 2014 tournament but failed to win any of the three matches.

Fast forward to 2022, and the UAE have been beaten by Sri Lanka and the Netherlands in their first two games and are on track for another winless campaign. But just when others were wondering, a group of young people from the UAE camp had different plans. They are determined to break the doom.

Although the UAE had lost their first two games, they came close to winning against the Netherlands, who reached the goal with just one goal left.

The 2022 T20 World Cup marks the beginning of a new era in many ways. The UAE’s progress into the second round was stopped by a whisker. They have a great learning curve and get a lot of positives out of the game.

Even before their maiden win over Namibia, the UAE’s first two defeats were interrupted by memorable moments.

Even before a ball is thrown, the UAE have their name inscribed in the record books. Their first game of the campaign set them a record that even a country playing in Test matches would be proud of.

When the UAE named Aayan Afzal Khan as the XI, he became the youngest player to qualify for the T20 World Cup at 16 years and 335 days. The record was previously held by former Pakistani striker Mohammad Amir.

In the same match, Junaid Siddiq put on a fine bowling display against Holland and led the counter-attack with two consecutive outs, completing his three-pointer to take UAE to victory the edge of.

It was just a matter of a penalty in the middle of the two games that could turn things around for the Netherlands.

But the UAE refused to give up and regrouped for a country far beyond Sri Lanka. But the result against the Asian champions was expected.

But even the Lanka Lions had a brief scare in the middle when Karthik Meiyappan scored the first hat-trick of the game to spoil the innings. Karthik completed a hat-trick by shaking off big-hands Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Charith Asalanka and skipper Dasun Shanaka in three straight games as Lanka ran well at 117/2.

While the experienced Lanka overcame a brief turmoil and posted a total battle score, Meaphan’s feat showcased the UAE’s fighting spirit. He became the fifth bowler to score a hat-trick at the T20 World Cup and the first for his country, the UAE.

But their perseverance was a harbinger of success that was to come. The young Emirati side has sniffed it when no one else can see it.

The young predators – the average age of the UAE team is 27 – are hunting for big whale hunts to herald their biggest stage. Finally, one day, the UAE fulfilled its long-standing dream of winning the T20 World Cup.

Muhamamd Waseem, CP Rizwan and Basil Hameed displayed a perfect example of excellent teamwork and helped the UAE achieve a challenging overall result. Namibia dropped the equation needed for the last three balls to seven before Wasim got rid of David Weiss and the rest is history.

The UAE victory was special in another way because it exuded the country’s culture of tolerance. Indian and Pakistani players brushed past each other and lived in harmony, promoting the values ​​of the nation’s wise leaders.

These bits and pieces set the tone for a bright future for UAE cricket. The days are not far when the UAE will be a major force to be reckoned with in the cricket fraternity.