• Final Scorecard

On a final day of fluctuating fortunes, The Netherlands held their nerve in Sharjah on Sunday and finally made sure of the outright win by dismissing the UAE for 277, a margin of 64 runs.

It was some compensation for the Dutch tourists, who had conceded first-innings points by the narrowest of margins on Friday.

Skipper Jeroen Smits did not declare overnight, wanting to give Bas Zuiderent a chance to chalk up his 150, but the batsman was denied this opportunity when partner Mohammed Kashif fell to the second ball of the morning, bowled by Arshad Ali. The Emirati bowler finished with four for 99, and nine wickets for the match.

That left the Emirates needing 342 to win, but their response began disastrously as Edgar Schiferli trapped Arshad Ali leg-before with the first ball of the innings.

Indika Batuwitarachchi was run out soon afterwards, and then Schiferli struck again to dismiss Amjad Ali, caught by Peter Borren for 25 with the total on 67.

Saqib Ali, batting more circumspectly than he had in the first innings, seemed to be the key to the Emiratis’ hopes, but soon after Borren had removed Khurram Khan, Mudassar Bukhari claimed Saqib’s wicket for 43, made off 101 balls with six fours and a six.

Borren then dismissed Rashid Khan without further addition to the score, and the UAE were in serious trouble on 89 for six.

That, however, was to be the last Dutch success for some time, as Nizel Fernandes and Mohammad Tauqir joined together in a seventh-wicket stand of 119 which restored the home side’s hopes of pulling off the win.

They played the spinners with comfort, scoring quickly enough to keep their side in touch with the required rate, and it took a superb piece of fielding by Alexei Kervezee, whose return from the boundary found both batsmen stranded at one end, to break the partnership, Fernandes being run out for 56, made off 84 balls with seven boundaries.

Tauqir’s enterprising innings came to an end with the total on 229, trapped leg-before by Kashif for 64. He faced 115 balls and hit eight fours and one six.

Still the Emirates were not finished, Shoaib Sarwar smacking 54 not out off 55 balls, with six fours and two sixes, but he ran out of partners as Daan van Bunge accepted a return catch from Aman Ali, and then – inevitably perhaps – Schiferli came back to dismiss Fahad Alhashmi.

The win leaves The Netherlands with an extremely slender chance of reaching their first Intercontinental Cup final, although it seems certain that even if they secured 20-point wins over Ireland and Kenya in their remaining matches they would now be dependent on results elsewhere.

The UAE are in sixth place, just ahead of Canada, having completed their programme with 29 points. The Dutch are fourth on 48, but two of the teams ahead of them – Kenya and Ireland – have a game in hand, while Namibia, having pulled off an extraordinary last-wicket victory over Scotland, have the inside running with 82.