Pakistan fans for once could watch a match without any anxiety. Nasir failed yet again with the bat, but for once held on to a catch - He deserves a medal just for that. Shehzad 93 (105) & Sohail 70 (83) capitalised on some poor fielding by the UAE fielders & put on 160 for the 2nd wicket. Misbah 65 (49) for once could play more freely, the top order coming good for once. Sohail Maqsood 45 (31), Umar Akmal 19 (13) & Afridi 21 (7) provided some big hits and helped Pakistan post 339/6 in 50. The chase was always going to be difficult but the UAE batsmen showed some spirit by batting through the 50 overs. Shaiman 62 (88) proved that he could score runs against the big boys too. Khurram's 43, Patil's 36 & Amjad's quickfire 40 helped the UAE batting gain respect.
Shahid Afridi was finally amongst the wickets and in the process he overtook Shaun Pollock to go to 5th in the list of highest wicket takers in ODIs. Afridi now has 395 wickets in 395 games. Earlier in the day he also joined the 8000 club. Overall a satisfying day for him & Pakistan. Big game this Saturday - Are Misbah's men ready to face the Protea fire?