Saqib shines with the bat again as Emirates beat Afghanistan

After a series of losses in recent times to Afghanistan, the UAE finally put one across their rivals in Kuwait yesterday, with a magnificent unbeaten 93 from Saqib Ali carrying them home in a tense ACC Trophy Elite match. Saqib, who starred with a 141 in the run-glut against Bhutan on Thursday, came to crease with UAE struggling at 43 for three in the 15th over as they chased 218 for victory. He stayed until the end, scoring the winning runs off the first delivery of the final over. Earlier, the UAE bowlers had laid the foundations of the victory by restricting the free-flowing Afghans to 217 for seven, with Shadeep Silva bagging three for 29. Afghanistan's most recent victory over the UAE came during the World Twenty20 qualifiers in February, which gave them a ticket to this month's T20 World Cup. Yesterday they announced their squad for the tournament yesterday, with Shabir Nori and Sayed Nasrat included. arizvi@thenational.ae