Ex-IPL star Akshdeep Nath says belated international success with UAE is ‘dream come true’

Fourteen years after winning the Under-19 World Cup with India, Akshdeep Nath enjoyed his finest moment yet in senior international cricket, albeit while wearing a different shade of blue.

The 33-year-old batter marshalled the UAE to one of their finest wins of their recent history in One-Day International cricket.

Agonisingly, he was dismissed within touching distance of his maiden international century, as he was trapped lbw by Bas de Leede, the Netherlands captain, on 99.

But he had done enough to guide the national team to a five-wicket win at the ICC Academy in Dubai Sports City.

It was just the UAE’s 10th win in 35 matches in Cricket World Cup League Two. With one match still to play, against Oman in Dubai on Wednesday, they are guaranteed to finish last in the competition.

However, they will have derived much confidence from a second win in the space of three days – having beaten Oman on Thursday – and especially given the nature of the opposition.

The Dutch are one of the outstanding sides in this tier of cricket, but the UAE were good value for their win.

Chasing 264, they required cools heads to bring about something that has so often been beyond them in recent times.

Akshdeep provided it, with a sparkling 88-ball 99, in which he hit five fours and four sixes, but which was most characterised by its savvy, as well as his stamina.

Show caption: UAE's Aayan Khan picked up three wickets against the Netherl…

He was joined in the decisive stand by Adeeb Usmani, the opener who finished not out on 81, having had to retire hurt in the middle of his innings because of the effects of the intense heat.

“I love to work in pressure situations,” Akshdeep said. “I was luckily able to do that. There was a lot of fight, and a lot of chat with Adeeb, about how to finish [the innings], and not to give them easy wickets by going for the glory shots.

“I would have loved the three-figure mark, but a team win is much better, against a very good side, a top four side, and hopefully we'll continue this winning momentum.”

It was his finest moment yet in a UAE shirt. The 33-year-old batter arrived in the country this year and was fast-tracked into the national team, as one of the first set of cricketers to become naturalised UAE citizens.

It is not exactly the future he once envisaged for himself when he was cutting his teeth in the game in India, but he said it is a realisation of his ambition.

“Honestly, it's a dream come true for me,” Akshdeep said.

“It's international cricket, at the end of the day. And it's pretty tough, Associate cricket; it's not that you just walk in and start scoring.

Show caption: UAE's Adeeb Usmani cuts Netherlands seamer Bas de Leede. Pho…

“You expect that, but the conditions are pretty challenging. When we [the six naturalised players] came in, we were at the bottom of the table, then you have to win games, you have to settle in.

“Overall, it's a dream come true for me and I would like to play as long as I can for UAE and win matches for the country.”

The UAE have one match remaining in this tri-series, then their next major assignment is a make-or-break series in Kathmandu.

They have to finish in the top four in the World Cup Qualifier Play-off in Nepal in December to be assured of retaining their ODI status. Akshdeep said this win against the Dutch shows they are tracking in the right direction.

“This is a confidence booster,” he said. “We have beaten Oman three out of three times. But winning against [Netherlands] is big for us.

“We have played against Nepal and Scotland, and have lost very close matches, even against [CWCL2 winners] USA.

“So that belief is there in the team. It is just about winning those small moments, which we did today. And hopefully we can continue that from there because as a team, we are looking very good now.

“Although the results are not there, if you talk about the team atmosphere, it's pretty good now. Everyone knows their roles well.

“Everyone has settled in a particular role, so now it is just about winning those close games. We are improving as a team and looking to work hard.”