The four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup match between Afghanistan and United Arab Emirates (UAE) ended in a draw at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium at Sharjah on Saturday.But UAE gained six points from the match for claiming a first-innings lead.On the final day, UAE began at its overnight score of 212 for five. But lost wickets at regular intervals to be bowled out for 228 in 73 overs. UAE had an overall lead of 362/The UAE tail did not wag like in the first innings. Swapnil Patil (79: 137b, 5x4, 2x6) held the innings together for a while, but was the first to fall on the day.The collapse proved to be a boon in disguise as UAE could push for a result.For Afghanistan the key wicket-takers were Dawlat Zadran (2-32), Mohammad NBabi (3-55) and Mirwais Ashraf (4-20).Set to chase an unlikely target of 363, Afghanistan began disastrously losing wickets at regular intervals.The side slipped to 30 for three. It required Javed Ahmadi's steady 49 off 84 balls to stem the rot. Ahmadi and Mirwais Ashraf added 40 runs for the fourth wicket. But there was a collapse again.The Afghans collapsed further to 96 for seven.It was then left to Nabi (35 not out: 153b, 3x4, 3x6) to once again play a key role for the Afghanistan side. Nabi added 35 runs with Samiullah Shenwari (6 not out) in 25.2 overs to stonewall UAE's attempts to force a win.For UAE, Amjad Javed (2-23) amnd Arshad Ali (3-30) picked up the wickets for the UAE side. Afghanistan ended at 131 for seven in 54.4 overs when the two sides settled for a draw.The two sides will now be locked in a two-game series in the 50-over Associate and Affiliate League on 10 and 12 October at the Sharjah ground.
