Pak, UAE seek first win

The United Arab Emirates may not have been able to cause upsets in the ongoing Asia Cup T20 so far, but there is no doubt that they are enjoying every moment in the big league.

In their last game, they made the hosts sweat with their bowling and prior to that, their game against Sri Lanka went right down to the wire. For a team that had arrived in Bangladesh with expectations of returning home after the Qualifiers -- they had pre-booked their return, according to an official -- they must be having the time of their lives.

Having so far managed to expose the batting departments of their opponents in the first two games, the UAE will be hoping they can repeat the task when they take on Pakistan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today.

Pakistan did not make the best of starts against India on Saturday. While the wicket might have been a bit difficult to bat on, their score of 83 was well below par. UAE will be hoping they can repeat their bowling performance and jolt Pakistan while they are still a bit unsettled.

Their key bowlers will be Mohammad Naveed and Ajmal Javed. Naveed, in particular, was brilliant in his last match against Bangladesh. The Tigers had actually decided to see him off. He has played five games in the competition so far and has operated at an average of 8.72 and an economy rate of just 4.80.

However, not a lot can be done if the UAE do not improve their batting. Their batsmen struggled against both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and with the men from the Gulf going up against an in-form Mohammad Amir, things could get a lot more difficult for them.

For Pakistan, this will be an opportunity to get settled in the competition. They will want their batsmen to score runs and gain some confidence ahead of their crucial encounters against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

As Shoaib Malik put it yesterday, they do not want to commit the same mistakes that they made against India.

“Every game is crucial. Playing against India was a pressure game for both the teams. We made some mistakes. We didn't know what the conditions here would be. Now that we have played, we know how to deal with it. It's going to be a great game against UAE,” Malik told reporters yesterday.

With Pakistan playing their home games in the UAE for the last seven years, players from both sides know each other quite well. Some of them are really good friends as well.

“Even two real brothers, when they play against each other, they want to win. It's the same with us,” Malik said when asked about the close ties between today's combatants.