Rain washes out USA Men's first ever T20I
The ICC Academy in Dubai played host to a historic encounter, but adverse weather spoiled the occasion, although not before USA displayed their talents with the bat in hand.
UAE have won the toss and will field first in the USA's first ever T20I in Dubai. Watch live coverage from the ICC Academy at the link below. #UAEvUSA 🇦🇪🇺🇸https://t.co/JhUylK024Z
— ICC (@ICC) March 15, 2019
UAE won the toss and elected to field, and made an early breakthrough when Sultan Ahmed bowled former West Indies batsman Xavier Marshall for one. Jaskaran Malhotra and Steven Taylor then went on to put on 70 runs together for the second wicket.
Taylor, who has represented Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League, was the star of the show for USA, hitting 72 from just 39 balls, with nine boundaries and three sixes included in his knock.
After Taylor reached his half-century, with USA well-positioned on 86/2 after 9.3 overs, a lengthy rain delay interrupted proceedings. The innings resumed with the match reduced to 15 overs a side. The break in play didn’t interrupt the Americans’ momentum. Despite a flurry of wickets, the batting side lifted themselves to 152/7, thanks to a staggering 7-ball 25 from 38-year-old Roy Silva.
With today's steady rainfall settling in over Dubai, #UAEvUSA's Inaugural T20i match @ICCAcademy has unfortunately been abandoned - with no result.
— UAE Cricket Official (@EmiratesCricket) March 15, 2019
The forecast ahead is much kinder, so it will all be on the line for tomorrow's #T20i!
🇦🇪 🏏 🇺🇸@usacricket @ANIBDXB @tykasports pic.twitter.com/E1RPSjhUSt
With the ball, USA enjoyed an excellent start. UAE opener Ashfaq Ahmed was out from his first ball faced – his pull shot finding Monank Patel at midwicket off the bowling of Jasdeep Singh. Singh then had Rohan Mustafa bowled two overs later to leave UAE 20/2. Nine more runs were added to the UAE total before rain returned once more, eventually ending the match.
The second T20I will be played on 16 March at the same venue.
Image courtesy of Emirates Cricket Board/USA Cricket