Ahmed Raza, the captain, insists all the pressure will be on the young Sri Lankan players when they meet his
[ UAE side ]
in the ACC Emerging Teams Cup in Singapore on Tuesday.
By dint of their comprehensive opening victory over the host nation on Monday, the national team sit at the top of a group including sides representing the Test nations Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The UAE players are under no illusions that they face far greater tests in the competition, starting with a fixture against Sri Lanka Under 23 on Tuesday.
However, Raza says his side are buoyed by the spirit of optimism currently pervading UAE cricket.
"We knew we had to perform and do well against Singapore as they are a team we are expected to beat, and that added pressure on us," Raza said. "The spirit in the team is just right. We know it is going to be very tough against Sri Lanka, but we are going in with a positive frame of mind.
"On our day, we can beat any team. All the pressure will be on them. They are the Test nation, so nobody will be expecting them to lose against us."
The national team clearly coped well enough with the pressure that comes with expectation in their opening fixture of this new event against Singapore. They could barely have beaten the host nation any more convincingly, chasing their victory target with nine wickets and 135 deliveries to spare.
Shaiman Anwar's unbeaten 119 out of a total of 164 for one was his second ton in his past three 50-over matches for the UAE, following his successful tour of Canada earlier this month.
"I'm very happy with current form and I want to make full use of it in the coming games," Anwar said. "We are all focused and want to make an impact in this event. It is a delight to get a ton in a UAE match, I want to get a few more and I'm grateful to the coach and selectors for keeping faith in me."
The centurion had earlier affected a run out as the home team crumbled to 162 all out. Raza, the captain and outstanding fielder in the team, also ran out two Singapore batsmen.
"As a captain, when you field first, it is important that all the bowlers respond to the task, which everyone did, especially Nasir [Aziz, the off-spinner who took four wickets]," Raza said. "Shaiman's was an exceptional innings. When he gets going like that he is very hard to stop and the team are thankful he is in that sort of form."
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