ABU DHABI // Mohammed Naveed's six-wicket haul proved in vain as Scotland beat the UAE by 117 runs to level the friendly three-match series at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Safyaan Sharif and Josh Davy took three wickets each to send the home side crashing to 69 all out in reply to Scotland's 186.
Naveed had Scotland reeling at 49 for six before an 81-run stand between Matt Machan (54) and Moneeb Iqbal (43) revived their innings.
They meet in the final match at the ICC Global Academy grounds in Dubai on Thursday ahead of the Intercontinental Cup games between the UAE and Ireland, and Scotland versus Afghanistan, from March 12 to 15.
Aaqib Javed, the UAE coach, said his players need to improve when faced with pacey, bouncy, and swinging deliveries on a lively pitch.
"We need to play more games in these conditions and opposition to provide our players the experience, and only Abu Dhabi and the GCA Dubai can prepare such wickets," he said.
"We also didn't have most of our regulars because of work commitment. So we were depleted.
"However, looking at the positives, we were able to provide more playing opportunities to the fringe players, including three Under 19 players. We have increased the strength of the squad to 35 and there is a lot of competition among them."
After Thursday's match, the UAE play two more friendlies, against Canada in Abu Dhabi on March 6 and Kenya three days later at Al Dhaid.
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