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The United Arab Emirates changed the course of history by scripting its first-ever T20I bilateral series triumph over Bangladesh after staging a seven-wicket triumph in the final fixture of the series at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Alishan Sharafu drilled the ball through covers straight to the boundary rope to finish off UAE's successful pursuit of the 163-run target and stamp its authority with a 2-1 series triumph. The UAE players stormed onto the field with beaming smiles, as Bangladesh fathomed the thought of the massive setback they endured less than a year before the T20 World Cup. UAE kicked off the series with a 27-run defeat against Bangladesh, but staged a flawless comeback to trounce Bangladesh in back-to-back fixtures. UAE defied the odds in the second T20I and gunned down Bangladesh's 206-run target to restore parity. In the decisive clash, the UAE put Bangladesh to bat after winning the toss. The Tigers suffered a batting collapse, courtesy of Haider Ali's left-arm spin magic and returned with economical figures of 3/7. He cleaned up Bangladesh's top order and left them threadbare at 49/4. With a flop show from skipper Litton Das (14), Bangladesh needed a moment of reprieve in Tanzid Hasan's early 40-run blitz from 18 deliveries and Jaker Ali's composed 41(34). Hasan Mahmud applied the finishing touches by smoking three towering maximums in his unbeaten 26 (15) cameo. The combined effort of the troika propelled Bangladesh to 162/9, offering them a lifeline to salvage a result in the series decider. In reply, skipper Muhammad Waseem (6) returned early, and Muhammad Zohaib (29) followed in his footsteps moments after the powerplay. Sharafu took the brunt of guiding his side to victory on his shoulders and tormented Bangladesh's bowling attack with his sublime art with the bat. Asif Khan joined him at the other end, as the duo turned Bangladesh's worst nightmare into reality. They raised an unbeaten 87-run partnership for the fourth wicket to break the backbone of Bangladesh's defence. Asif (41*) clubbed two maximums in the penultimate over to take UAE closer to history. The winning runs came off Sharafu's (68*) bat as UAE relished its newfound success. (ANI)
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