Sixty-Seven for Four, Then Seven Sixes: Khuzaima Tanveer Takes the Series Opener Away From Malaysia

For about half of the UAE's chase, this looked like the kind of match Malaysia win at home. They had 144 on the board, and the UAE were 67 for 4 in the tenth over, needing 78 from 64 balls.

Then Khuzaima Tanveer arrived, and a match that had been decided by careful bowling was settled by a man who does both. Two days after the UAE lost the ACC Men's Premier Cup final to Nepal, their all-rounder took two wickets, faced 29 balls, hit seven of them over the rope, and with Rahul Chopra added the last 78 runs of the chase without being separated.

The UAE's win was built before Tanveer ever picked up a bat. Malaysia's openers came out swinging — Nazmus Sakib hit 15 from six balls, and Muhammad Haziq Aiman and Syed Aziz added 34 from 18 — and they were 60 for 1 after six overs. From there, Aayan Afzal Khan's left-arm spin did the work. He trapped Haziq Aiman lbw to end the powerplay stand, removed Syed Aziz at 75 for 3, and came back to have Virandeep Singh caught at 118 for 5. His four overs cost 18.

Tanveer's four overs cost 22, with Nazmus Sakib and Muhammad Akram as his wickets. Between them, Aayan and Tanveer bowled eight overs for 40 runs and five wickets; the other twelve overs went for 102. That split is the story of Malaysia's innings: 75 for 3 after nine overs, and only 69 more from the last eleven.

With the bat, Adeeb Usmani hit three fours in a four-ball 12 before falling in the first over, and Tanish Suri's 21 from 15 kept the rate honest, but Sharafu and Harpreet Singh fell cheaply and at 67 for 4 the UAE needed 78 from 64 balls. Tanveer and Chopra got them with 19 balls to spare. Chopra's 17 not out from 25 balls will not appear in anyone's highlights, but it let his partner swing freely without the tail ever being exposed.

Malaysia will look at two passages. The first is their own innings between overs nine and sixteen, when Virandeep Singh and Aqeel Wahid added 41 from 41 balls. It kept wickets in hand but left the finishers too little room, and Aqeel's 15 from 22 was the innings in miniature. The second is the end of the UAE chase, when Syed Aziz's 2.5 overs cost 37 and Vijay Unni's three cost 41. Madhukar and Virandeep went for 38 in eight overs; the rest of the attack conceded 106 in 8.5.

There was plenty to keep. Virandeep's removal of Tanish Suri and Madhukar's two wickets — Alishan Sharafu bowled and Harpreet Singh caught — turned 44 for 1 into 67 for 4, and the top three all scored at a run a ball or better. The adjustment is mainly about who bowls to Tanveer.

This was a morning start at the Bayuemas, and the surface rewarded bowlers who hit their lengths: Aayan, Madhukar and Virandeep, the three most economical bowlers on the day, bowled twelve overs between them for 56 runs. Batting first, 144 looked competitive at 67 for 4 and under par seven overs later — the pitch did not change, the batter did. Twenty-one boundaries came in the UAE's 16.5 overs, eighteen in Malaysia's twenty.

This was an award for doing both jobs. With the ball, 4-0-22-2, taking the opener who had raced to 15 from six balls. With the bat, 68 not out from 29 balls: four fours, seven sixes, and a strike rate of more than 230 in a chase that was wobbling when he walked in. Forty-two of his runs came in sixes. In a three-match series, the side with the player who can swing a game twice has an extra option, and on Monday it was the UAE's.

This match didn't have a CricIntel preview, so there is no call to grade. Our 2nd T20I preview leaned towards the UAE on batting depth while expecting Malaysia's familiarity with the Bayuemas to narrow the gap. The opener fits both halves: the UAE's No. 6 won it from 67 for 4, and Malaysia's frontline pair of Madhukar and Virandeep went at under five an over.

The UAE lead 1-0 with the 2nd T20I at the same ground on September 16 (07:30 IST) and the 3rd on September 17. Malaysia have to win on Wednesday to keep the series alive. Watch Aayan Afzal Khan against Malaysia's top order again, and watch who Malaysia turn to when Tanveer comes in — Syed Aziz and Vijay Unni's overs cost 78 on Monday.