Saturday Nov 29, 2025
Saturday Nov 29, 2025
Friday, 19 September 2025 00:14 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
DUBAI: In a do-or-die fixture Pakistan came out on top defeating the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 41 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday despite arriving one hour late for the match to book their place in the Super Fours from Group A with table toppers India.
Shaheen Shah Afridi’s late hitting lifted them from a position of great despair. An 18-run final overtook Pakistan to a fighting total of 146-9 and it proved to be more than enough. A solid bowling and fielding performance saw Pakistan bowl UAE out for 105. The wickets were all shared as Pakistan never allowed UAE to get ahead of the chase at any point. There was something in the pitch right through the game, and unfortunately for the UAE their batters weren’t good enough. But nothing to take away from their spirited performance with the ball earlier. The UAE bowlers were superb with Junaid Siddique picking up his second straight four-fer and Simranjeet Singh, who bowled brilliantly through the middle to pick up three.
Pakistan lost a couple of wickets early in the power play and they struggled for momentum ever since. Fakhar Zaman’s 36-ball 50 (2 fours, 3 sixes) kept them afloat before Shaheen’s 14-ball 29 (3 fours, 2 sixes) renewed some hope in what was otherwise a very dismal batting performance. Afridi took the Player of the Match award.
During the match Sri Lankan umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge was forced to retire hurt after being accidentally hit on the head (behind the ear) by a ball returned from the outfield by a Pakistani fielder. He was helped off the field and was substituted by the standby umpire.
Scores: Pakistan 146-9 (20) (Fakhar Zaman 50, Salman Agha 20, Shaheen Afridi 29*, Junaid Siddique 4/18, Simranjeet Singh 3/26)
UAE 105 (17.4) (Rahul Chopra 35, Dhruv Parashar 20, Shaheen Afridi 2/16, Haris Rauf 2/19, Abrar Ahmed 2/13) – [ST]
