Emerging Teams Asia Cup: Talat, Farhan steer Pakistan into semi-finals

KARACHI: Hussain Talat and Sahibzada Farhan blasted fine centuries to put Pakistan in the semi-finals when they demolished United Arab Emirates (UAE) by nine wickets in Group B fixture of the eight-nation Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Emerging Teams Asia Cup here at the National Stadium on Friday.

Talat blasted 116 not out and Farhan hammered an unbeaten 104 to enable Pakistan to achieve the 234-run target in 39 overs for the loss of one wicket.

After losing Ali Imran (5) early, both Farhan and Talat batted with perfection, sharing 227 for the second-wicket unbroken stand to gift a second successive victory to the hosts.The 22-year-old Talat, who has played 11 T20 International matches, struck 14 fours and two sixes in his excellent 109-ball knock.

Charsadda-born Farhan, who had scored 130 in the opener against Hong Kong the other day, smacked 10 fours in his solid 120-ball knock.Left-arm spinner Ahmed Reza got 1-44 in nine overs.

Earlier, after being invited to bat first, opener Ashfaq Ahmed (69) and Mohammad Usman (51*) blasted fifties to enable UAE to post 233-9 in the stipulated 50 overs.Ashfaq, who provided a 63-run opening stand to his team along with Rohan Mustafa (25), hammered nine fours and one six in his 89-ball effort.

The left-handed Usman, who came at No 6, played till the end, hitting four fours in his responsible 61-run knock.Right-arm off-spinner Ashiq Ali was the pick of the bowlers with 3-34 in his quota of 10 overs. Left-arm part-time spinner Khushdil Shah captured 2-29 in 10 overs.

Hussain Talat was declared man of the match.Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan was happy with his team’s progress.“I am really happy as every player is performing,” Rizwan told reporters after his team’s win.

“We will also put in our best in our next game against Bangladesh,” said Rizwan, the international stumper, who was also named in Pakistan’s squad for the tour of South Africa on Friday.UAE coach Douglas Robert Brown said his team was here to learn.

“We are an associate nation and are here to learn. Pakistan deserved the victory. The whole credit goes to Farhan and Talat who batted so well,” he added.Meanwhile, in the other outing of the same group here at the Southend Club Ground, Bangladesh defeated Hong Kong by 28 runs, their first win in the four-team group.

Bangladesh rode on the superb 100 from Mosaddek Hossain to pile up 286-8 in the stipulated 50 overs. Hossain smashed eight fours and three sixes in his rapid 86-ball knock. Zakir Hasan chipped in with a 63-ball 49, smacking four fours. Yasir Ali smashed a 43-ball 45 which contained four fours and one six. Medium pacer Aizaz Khan got 3-62 and Ehsan Nawaz captured 2-48.

In response, Hong Kong were restricted to 258-7 with Nizakat Khan top-scoring with 92 for which he faced 95 balls and had nine fours and three sixes. Babar Hayat chipped in with a 95-ball 91 which carried five fours and three sixes.Khaled Ahmed (2-69) and Mosaddek Hossain (2-23) bowled really well.

Mosaddek was declared man of the match for his excellent all-round performance.In the final-round matches on Sunday (tomorrow), Pakistan will lock horns with Bangladesh at the National Stadium while UAE will make their last-ditch effort to qualify for the semi-finals when they face Hong Kong at the Southend Club Ground.

In the Group A first-round fixtures at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Friday, holders Sri Lanka whipped Oman by 109 runs while India defeated Afghanistan by 74 runs.The semi-finals and the final will be held in the Sri Lankan capital on December 13 and December 15 respectively.