Dubai: The UAE entered the final of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) under-15 Cup Elite tournament in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

UAE took a crucial seven-run lead and held Malaysia to a draw to gain more points. They will now take on Nepal in the final tomorrow.

"It was a fantastic show by the boys. It took sometime for them to know each other as we could not get enough time to practice together before this tournament. Once they understood each other they jelled well and executed the plans brilliantly," Chandika Hathurusinghe, coach of the UAE, told Gulf News from Kuala Lumpur.

Vignesh Rajan, once again produced a splendid allround show. After hitting an unbeaten 50, he claimed three wickets to give UAE the lead and bag the man of the match award.

"I am on top of the world. It was great to score a fifty in an international match. I am looking forward to give my best in the final," said Vignesh.

"The wickets were not helpful for spin but thanks to the tips from my coach Shehzad Altaf, I bowled a tight length," added the left-arm spinner.

Vignesh has hit 133 runs and claimed 16 wickets from four matches in the tournament.

Batting first, UAE scored 132 for nine mainly through Vignesh's unbeaten 50 off 156 balls with five hits to the boundary. No 3 batsman Aqib Malek chipped in with 26.

The UAE bowlers stood up to the challenge and defended the small total. Vignesh took three for 14 to return with figures of 17-8-14-3. Skipper Manish Dhakan too claimed two wickets to restrict Malaysia to 125.

UAE consolidated their position by scoring 143 in the second innings. Dhakan showed the way through a knock of 58 off 130 balls with seven boundaries. He got good support from the consistent Malek, who hit 31. No 8 batsman Bilal Saddiqui chipped in with a timely unbeaten 27.

Malaysia, facing a daunting task of scoring 151 to win in 12 overs, could muster only 75 for 5. Opening bowler Mahmoud Mir claimed two wickets before stumps were drawn.

"The boys are a bit jaded due to lack of enough break between matches. They are all very competitive and in all our matches we restricted our opponents to below 150. We hope to do well in the final too," said Hathurusinghe.

Scores

UAE 132 for 9 in 60 overs (Aqib Malek 26, Vignesh Rajan 50 n.o.) and 143 in 67.2 overs (Aqib Malek 31, Manish Dhakan 58, Bilal Saddiqui 27n.o.) drew with

Malaysia 125 in 55.3 overs (K. Goonasagran 33. M. Eman 24, Vignesh Rajan 3 for 14, Manish Dhakan 2 for 38) and 75 for 5 in 12 overs (S. Idrus 33, Mahmoud Mir 2 for 21).
Man of the match: Vignesh Rajan.