A look at the fixtures schedule gives you a feeling that it might be a bit unusual one, but no that's how the one-off twenty20 cricket competition in the middle East has been scheduled. The semi finals as well as the final happening on the same day!
READ: Key notes from Friday's hearing over BCCI-Lodha saga at the Supreme Court of India.
Good news is that both the semi finals are over now and we finally have the two teams for the inaugural Desert T20 cricket tournament.
Afghanistan take on Ireland in the final on Friday at the Dubai Cricket Stadium.
While Afghanistan won against Oman by eight wickets in the first semi final of the day, Ireland won by a whopping 98 runs over Scotland in the other semi final match. Incidentally, both these sides belonged to Group A in the league phase of the competition.
Afghanistan had won by five wickets against Ireland in their group fixture earlier. For the record, they are undefeated in the competition, while Ireland have one loss so far.
Can the winning momentum give Afghanistan the trophy on the night? That remains to be seen.
Squads
Afghanistan: Asghar Stanikzai(c), Amir Hamza, Dawlat Zadran, Fareed Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad, Najeeb Tarakai, Najibullah Zadran, Naveen-ul-Haq, Rashid Khan, Samiullah Shenwari.
Scotland: Kyle Coetzer(c), Richie Berrington, Matthew Cross, Josh Davey, Calum MacLeod, Con de Lange, Michael Leask, Craig Wallace, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Mark Watt, Chris Sole, Bradley Wheal.
Match Schedule
Date: January 20
Time: 9 pm IST (7:30 pm local time, 3:30 pm GMT)
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium
Where to watch live
TV: Sky Sports (UK)
Live streaming: Sky Sports Live (UK)
Live score: Official Twitter.