Abu Dhabi: Here is a Malayalee with a smashing century in international cricket, though not in an Indian jersey! UAE won the first match of the ODI series against Ireland with the help of a brilliant century by Thalassery native Chundangapoyil Rizwan. The UAE won by six wickets in a thrilling match at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Ireland won the toss and elected to bat, scoring 269 for five in the allotted 50 overs. Opener Paul Sterling’s (131 *) century strengthened the Irish side. In reply, the UAE reached the target with just four wickets to spare in Rizwan’s century. This gave the UAE a 1–0 lead in the four-match series. Rizwan is the man of the match.
Rizwan hit 109 off 136 balls with nine fours and a six. Mohammad Usman, of Pakistani descent, also scored a century for the UAE. Usman was unbeaten on 102 off 107 balls with seven fours and three sixes. Rizwan and Usman put on a century for the fourth wicket to give the UAE the lead. The duo added 184 runs from 32.5 overs.
Although Rizwan was out for 35 runs, Mohammad Usman teamed up with Waheed Ahmed to lead the UAE to victory. Waheed was unbeaten on 18 off 10 balls with two fours and a six. Barry McCarthy and Curtis Comfer took two wickets each for Ireland.
Earlier, Ireland came out on top with the top batsmen clicking. Paul Sterling added 102 runs for the second wicket with captain Andy Balbirnie. Balbirnie scored a half-century. The captain faced 61 balls and scored 53 runs with five fours.
Sterling then added 49 for the fifth wicket with Curtis Camper and 61 for the unbeaten sixth with Gareth Delaney. Camper hit 24 off 30 balls with three fours and Delaney hit 21 not out off 15 balls with two fours. Kevin O’Brien (23 off 22 balls) also did well. Rohan Mustafa took two wickets for UAE.
Chundangapoyil Rizwan
Born on April 19, 1988 in Thalassery, Chundangapoyil Rizwan arrived in the UAE in 2014. The attempt to earn a place in the UAE national team began after completing four years in the UAE legally. Rizwan, who is a regular at domestic cricket tournaments in the UAE, has been named in the national team for his outstanding performances in these tournaments. He made his ODI debut on January 26, 2019 against Nepal. He made his Twenty20 debut against Nepal on the 31st. Rizwan was given a one-year part-time contract by the UAE Cricket Board last month.
So far he has scored 288 runs at an average of 32 from 10 ODIs. This is the first time they have crossed the 50 and 100 mark in this match against Ireland. He scored 80 runs at an average of 20 from five Twenty20 matches. The highest score was 44 runs.
English Summary: Chundangapoyil Rizwan from Kerala is named Player of the Match for his sublime knock for UAE Vs Ireland
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