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Abu Dhabi: Saqib Ali almost spoiled the Irish party here on Sunday with a captain's knock of 195 but the visitors scalped his valuable wicket just before tea and completed a 9-wicket win in the Intercontinental Cup cricket match.
The win gave the defending champions 20 points which catapult them from fourth to second place in the 8-nation tournament for Associate Countries.
Ireland now have 49 points and are second to Kenya who have 66 but have played one match more than the Irish. The UAE have completed their engagements and have 23 points from seven matches.
With UAE resuming on 186 for 7, an early bath for the teams and an Irish win was on the cards. But Ali, unbeaten on 98 and with an overnight partnership of 59 with Zahid Shah (14 no) for the eighth wicket, seemed to have other ideas.
The short-statured New Medical Centre skipper, made the most of his knowledge of the home pitch, to grind out a solid innings and frustrate the Irish bowlers.
The lanky Shah also gave him company and the pair patiently added another 100 runs yesterday before Greg Thomson trapped the latter leg before for 28.
Brief scores
Ireland win by 9 wickets
Points: Ireland 20, UAE 0
UAE (First innings): 228 all out in 72 overs
Ireland (First Innings): 474 all out in 134.3
UAE (Second Innings-Overnight 186 for 7): 306 all out in 122.2 overs (Saqib Ali 195, Kyle McCallan 3 for 104, Alex Cusack 3 for 19)
Ireland (Second Innings): 64 for one (William Porterfield 40).
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