ICC Intercontinental Cup 2015-2017/18, NAM vs UAE Match Report, September 16 - 18, 2017

Left-arm spinner Ahmed Raza’s eight-wicket match haul helped the UAE to a 34-run win over Namibia in three days at the Wanderers Cricket Ground in Windhoek.

Chasing 215, Namibia reached 180 as Raza got the better of top scorer Craig Williams (48) and opener Stephan Baard (12). Rohan Mustafa and Imran Haider handled the lower middle order, taking five wickets between them.

The victory was sealed by Adnan Mufti’s first-class hundred (110 off 186 balls), which took the team to a 57-run first-innings lead. His knock came after the UAE were reduced to 74 for 4 after opting to bat. He added 94 along with Rameez Shahzad to revive the side before clearing the tail. He hit 13 fours before the ninth UAE batsman was dismissed. JJ Smit was the choice of Namibian bowlers, taking 4 for 37 in the first innings. Debuting Petrus Burger complemented him with 3 for 44 at-bats.

In reply, Namibia started on a positive note with Baard and Lohan Louwrens adding 65 for the first wicket. Raza sparked a collapse of 44 for six, leaving Namibia on the ropes. However, number 6 batsman Gerhard Erasmus launched a counterattack, scoring 78 runs off 112 balls to reduce the deficit. Raza finished the game 6-for-6 in two innings. This was his fourth five-wicket haul in his 19th first-class match.

UAE slumped from 57 to 157 in the second innings thanks to a five-for-five from Williams, but the bowlers once again defended 214 runs, giving the team 20 runs.

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