CWC Qualifiers: Scotland's Safyaan Sharif claims 4/20 against UAE

Scotland speedster Safyaan Sharif was the pick of the bowlers as he claimed his third ODI four-wicket haul against UAE in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers in Bulawayo. His exceptional bowling allowed Scotland to win the match by 111 runs after UAE were bundled out for only 171. Sharif finished with figures of 4/20 as Scotland registered their second win in the event.

A fine spell from Sharif

Veteran pacer Sharif came to bowl in the last over of the powerplay. He started things slowly and in his fourth over, he removed Asif Khan with a short ball. He then dismissed Aayan Afzal Khan as the batter tried to take the attack and only spooned it to mid-off. He then scalped Junaid Siddique and Zahoor Khan in a space of three balls.

A look at Sharif's ODI numbers

Sharif has been Scotland's mainstay in ODIs. He made his debut against the Netherlands in Aberdeen in 2011. He has scalped 98 wickets in 73 ODIs at an average of 29.28. His tally includes two fifers and three four-wicket-hauls. He is the highest wicket-taker for Scotland in this format. Mark Watt with 81 scalps trails him in this regard.

How did the match pan out?

UAE won the toss and invited Scotland to bat. Scotland started poorly as they were tottering at 48/4. But Richie Berrington kept his calm and went on stitching crucial partnerships with Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, and Mark Watt to post 282/8. In reply, UAE never got going and were bundled out for 171. Chris Sole (3/37) and Sharif (4/20) scalped seven wickets between them.

A look at Sharif's stunning ODI numbers against UAE

The 32-year-old has enjoyed bowling against UAE. Sharif has raced to 24 wickets against them in only 11 ODIs at 16.41. Notably, this was his first ODI four-wicket -haul against UAE. He has not even scalped 15 wickets against any other opposition ODIs.