USA needed 32 off 25 balls with six wickets in hand, but indecision over a second run led to a runout that ended a 68-run partnership between Harmeet Singh and Shayan Jahangir and triggered a collapse of 6 for 24 as USA fell short by six runs to the UAE. 

Photo Credit: Africa One TV

By Peter Della Penna (Twitter/X @PeterDellaPenna)
 
USA’s chasing troubles that were evident on tour in the Netherlands in August finally reared their head again in Namibia as their six-match win streak came to an end against UAE, who defended a total of 170 to bowl out USA for 164 in the final over to close out a six-run victory on Friday at United Cricket Club in Windhoek. USA needed 102 at the halfway stage of the chase, but narrowed that gap down to 32 off 25 balls with six wickets in hand before a dramatic stumble saw them all out with two balls remaining. 
 
Playing without Smit Patel and Monank Patel, who both sat out injured, USA began their chase with a 33-run partnership between Sai Mukkamalla and Andries Gous before Mukkamalla fell for 14 top edging a pull off medium pacer Junaid Siddique to Basil Hameed at mid-on in the fourth over. Gous went in the next over for 18, pulling Muhammad Jawadullah’s left-arm pace to Rahul Chopra at deep midwicket to make it 33 for 2. Milind Kumar went next for 11 in the eighth over, cutting Hameed’s offspin straight to Asif Khan at backward point making it 56 for 3. USA looked like they were a long way out of the chase after Nitish Kumar fell for 20 off 22 balls in the 11^th, bowled attempting a slog sweep against Aayan Afzal Khan’s left-arm spin to make it 72 for 4. 
 
But momentum shifted in the 13^th when Vishnu Sukumaran conceded 25 runs in his only over of offspin. Shayan Jahangir had entered in the eighth over and taken time to get settled before going on the attack, driving Sukumaran for six before a sweep for four. Another six was followed by a no ball over waist height smashed wide of mid-off for four as USA suddenly were right back in the chase at 101 for 4 after 13. Ten more runs came off the 14^th and another 13 off the 15^th before Jahangir brought up a 26-ball half-century with a top-edged pull over the keeper for a boundary off Siddique’s medium pace in the 16^th. Jahangir struck two more boundaries in the over followed by a single and then a leg side wide to Harmeet Singh which was fumbled by the keeper to allow a second run to be taken putting Jahangir back on strike for the final ball of the over. 
 
At a moment when USA looked like they were in firm control needing just eight per over with two set men in, chaos suddenly unfolded in the form of a runout. Jahangir dragged an inside edge off a wide half volley into vacant backward square leg for an easy single as both batters considered a second. Jahangir turned at the non-striker’s end to come back and Harmeet responded, but Jawadullah charged quickly across from short fine leg to collect and caused Jahangir to change his mind about coming back for a second run. Harmeet was halfway down the wicket at this stage and an easy runout was completed by wicketkeeper Aryansh Sharma to make it 140 for 5, ending a 68-run partnership. 
 
Hameed struck twice in the 17^th, landing a huge blow when he induced Jahangir to slog to Chopra at deep midwicket for 61. USA stand-in captain Jessy Singh was out next ball to the same shot and fielder making it 144 for 7. Debutant Utkarsh Srivastava and Abhishek Paradkar came together and scored six runs off the 18^thand again off the 19^th before Srivastava fell on the last ball of the over as yet another USA player picked out Chopra at deep midwicket, making it four catches for him on the day and four wickets for Hameed. It also meant USA needed 14 off the final over. 
 
Paradkar cut a boundary off the first ball of the final over from Jawadullah before taking a three to put Nosthush Kenjige on strike for the first time with seven runs off four balls needed. After surveying the field setting, Kenjige shuffled well across his stumps looking to flick through fine leg but missed and was bowled behind his legs with leg stump coming out of the ground. Last man Juanoy Drysdale arrived and Jawadullah defeated him with a yorker to knock back middle stump and end the match. 
 
Hameed ended with figures of 4 for 25 in his four overs while Jawadullah’s precision at the death resulted in 3 for 33 in 3.4 overs. Siddique claimed 1 for 32 off four overs while Aayan finished with 1 for 22 in four overs of spin. 
 
UAE’s total was set up by twin half-centuries from Sukumaran and captain Muhammad Waseem. Drysdale struck in the third over, getting Aryansh to sky a pull to short midwicket for 10 where Jahangir held on after an initial juggle to make it 12 for 1. But USA would have to wait awhile for their next wicket as Waseem and Sukumaran added 89 for the second wicket across just nine overs. Waseem hit Drysdale out of the attack in the fifth after belting him for two fours and a six before Harmeet received harsh punishment from both batters in the ninth during a 20-run over in which he conceded three sixes. 
 
Waseem eventually brought up his half-century off 29 balls with a six and a single off Kenjige in the 11^th but fell off his next ball in the 12^th upon Drysdale’s reintroduction to the attack as a miscued drive was skied to Jessy at mid-off. Sukumaran was dropped in the next over off Paradkar’s bowling on 38 when Nitish put down a flat drive at long-off. Two runs were taken off the drop before Sukumaran hit the next ball for six. A single in the 14^th over off Jessy took Sukumaran to 50 off 40 balls but, just like Waseem before him, Sukumaran fell on the next ball he faced when slogging a knee high full toss from Harmeet to Mukkamalla at long-on to make it 121 for 3. 
 
Asif fell in the next over to Kenjige for 9, skying a slog to Jessy at long-on, before Kenjige struck again in his final over during the 18^th when Ali Naseer pulled a short ball to Milind at deep midwicket for 3. Kenjige could have had Hameed first ball on the next delivery but an ankle high chance off a flat drive back down the pitch burst through his hands. The missed opportunity proved costly as Hameed scored a boundary off his next ball, then teamed with Chopra to plunder 26 off the final two overs. That included a six off the final ball of the innings bowled by Drysdale to Hameed, which was the shot that provided the winning margin of victory. It also capped a superb cameo from Hameed in which he finished 21 not out off 11 balls and combined with his four wickets in the field helped earn him Player of the Match honors. 
 
Kenjige finished with 2 for 32 in four overs while Drysdale ended with 2 for 37 in four after his final over went for 16 runs. Harmeet was USA’s only other wicket-taker and ended with 1 for 33 in four. Jessy was USA’s most economical bowler on the day, returning 0 for 24 in four. Paradkar and Milind combined for USA’s remaining four overs which conceded 40 runs. 
 
USA returns to action on Saturday for their final match of the tour against Namibia at United Cricket Club.