Cricket captaincy can be either a blessing or a curse. Rohan Mustafa though, seems to relish it and revel in it. The UAE skipper was at the forefront yet again, for the second time running, to shepherd his side past Oman and put them on the brink of a third appearance at the Asia Cup.

The 29-year-old dished out an all-round showing as the UAE nudged past Oman by 13 runs in the Asia Cup cricket qualifier at the Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Tuesday. Mustafa clubbed 71 and then snaffled two wickets with his tidy off-spin to take UAE into the final on Thursday. It was a second Man of the Match performance from Mustafa, who had made 38 and taken two wickets against hosts Malaysia in their previous encounter.

The win against Oman not just inches UAE closer to a third visit to the Asia Cup after 2004 and 2016, but also presents them an opportunity for revenge against Hong Kong. Hong Kong had inflicted a chastening 182-run defeat on the UAE when the two sides had met earlier in the competition. That was to be the UAE's only loss so far in the tournament.

The winners can punch their ticket for the 14th edition of the Asia Cup to be held in the UAE from September 15 to 28. The winners will join the five ICC full members India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the tournament, which will be played for the third time in the country after 1984 and 1995.

Asked to bat first by Oman captain Zeeshan Maqsood, the UAE racked up 208 for eight in their allotment, a total that seemed a tad under par for the course. Despite wickets falling all around him, southpaw Mustafa put his head down and strung together a defiant 71 from 104 deliveries with eight boundaries and a six. And with handy contributions from the lower order, the UAE managed to cross the 200-mark.

Oman were in with a shout after opener Aqib Ilyas had set the tone with a 43-ball 45 with seven boundaries. And although they got close with little cameos from Naseem Khushi, Mohammad Nadeem and Ajay Lalcheta, Mustafa and pacer Amir Hayat and Mohammad Naveed ensured that they ran out of gas.

Brief scores:

UAE: 208 for 8 in 50 overs (Rohan Mustafa 71, Ashfaq Ahmed 24, Abdul Shakoor 21 not out, Zeeshan Maqsood 2-21, Fayyaz Butt 2-43) beat Oman: 195 all out in 47.2 overs (Aqib Ilyas 45, Naseem Khushi 27 not out, Rohan Mustafa 2-31, Amir Hayat 2-48, Mohammad Naveed 2-51) by 13 runs.

Man of the Match: Rohan Mustafa (UAE).

Nepal: 95 all out in 37.5 overs (Eshan Khan 4-15, Aizaz Khan 2-16, Tanwir Afzal 2-31) lost to Hong Kong: 96 for 7 in 32.3 overs (Anshuman Rath 52, Sandeep Lamichhane 5-27) by 3 wickets.

Man of the Match: Anshuman Rath (Hong Kong).

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