Zimbabwe beat UAE by four wickets

Nelson (New Zealand): United Arab Emirates (UAE) rode on Shaiman Anwar's 67 to score a strong total of 285 for seven against Zimbabwe in a Pool B match of the cricket World Cup at the Saxton Oval here Thursday.

Two 82-run partnerships -- between Krishna Chandran (34) and Khurram Khan (45 for the third wicket and between Anwar and S.P. Patil (32) for the fifth wicket was the reason pushed the UAE to such a highly competitive total.

At the start, opening batsmen Amjad Ali (7) and Adrin Berenger (22) lost their wickets to leave the team in trouble at 40/2.

However, Krishna Chandran and Khurram Khan had a healthy partnership to give some stability to the innings. They put up a 82-run partnership for the third wicket before Chandran was dismissed by Solomon Mire.

UAE lost another quick wicket in the form of Khurram who was looking strong and settled. He was caught by Sean Williams off a Tendai Chatara delivery to leave the team at 134/4.

Another partnership flourished for the UAE. Anwar joined Patil and they stitched a 82-run stand for the fifth wicket that largely ensured that the UAE cross the 200-run mark.

Anwar's 50-ball knock was studded with nine fours and a huge six. The 35-year-old scored his second One-Day Interational (ODI) fifty.

Later, Mohammad Naveed (17-ball 23 not out) and Amjad Javed 19-ball 25 not out) provided late spark to the UAE innings. They forged a 53-run unbeaten partnership for the eighth wicket in only 5.5 overs.

For Zimbabwe, Chatara was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3/42. Mire and Williams chipped in two wickets a piece.

Brief Scores: UAE 285/7 in 50 overs (Shaiman Anwar 67, Khurram Khan 45; Tendai Chatara 3/31, Solomon Mire 2/39) against Zimbabwe.