Azmatullah Omarzai led from the front with ball in hand as his 4-wicket haul derailed UAE. Omarzai was the leader of the pack with Fazalhaq Farooqi missing this game and he did his job. He was ably assisted by Mujeeb who picked up 2 wickets while Rashid Khan picked up one wicket. For UAE, Sohaib Khan made an important 68 off 48 balls and Sharafu played well for his 40 off 31 balls. The UAE ended up with 160/9 a competitive score on the board.
Afghanistan & UAE Trade Exchanges To Share The Spoils At Powerplay.Â
Put into bat first, Aryansh Sharma and Muhammad Waseem the captain came out to bat for UAE while Azmatullah Omarzai had ball in hand for Afghanistan. Aryansh survived a scare as he edge the first ball that did not quite carry to the keeper Gurbaz. Omarzai then hit back and got rid of Aryansh for a duck as this time the ball carried to the keeper. Alishan Sharafu came out to bat next and got off the mark as well.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman came into the attack from the other end. Waseem hit him straight as an arrow down the ground past mid-on for a boundary. Waseem nailed the slog sweep to deep midwicket for a boundary. Mujeeb then got rid of Waseem for 10 off 6 balls with 2 fours to his name as he was adjudged LBW. The batter reviewed and saw umpire’s call on hitting the stumps. Sohaib Khan came out to bat next.
Omarzai came out to bat next as Sharafu pulled it away to deep square leg for a boundary. Mujeeb continued as Sohaib went straight down the ground over long-off for the maximum. Mujeeb thought he had his man but Sohaib reviewed and got the decision overturned in his favour. Ziaur Rahman came into the attack next and started with a no ball.
Sohaib managed to hit the free hit away by going over covers for a boundary with an outside edge towards the point fielder. Khan then got the outside edge as the ball raced away to the third man fence past the keeper. Khan then got a top edge that flew over fine leg for a boundary. Mujeeb came to bowl the last over of powerplay. Sharafu backed away and hit it straight over the head of the bowler for a boundary. The 50 came up for UAE in 5.5 overs.
Sharafu got an outside edge that flew through the point fielder for a boundary to end the ver. Sharafu was unbeaten on 22 off 16 balls while Sohaib was unbeaten on 21 off 11 balls as UAE were 55/2 in 6 overs of powerplay with Drinks on the field.
Alishan Sharafu & Sohaib Khan drives UAE forward before Afghanistan hit back with quick wickets in middle phase of the game.Â
Rashid Khan came into the attack after the break and Sharafu slogged it away over deep midwicket for the maximum. Noor Ahmad came into the attack next. Sohaib took on Noor and hit him for back-to-back boundaries with a sweep behind square to the fine leg fence and then past the slips for a boundary. Rashid continued and bowled a good over. Noor continued as Sharafu took the bowling on and lofted it over long-off down the ground for the maximum. Sohaib went big again as he slog swept it away over deep midwicket for the maximum.
UAE were 93/2 in 10 overs at the halfway stage of the game. Sharifi continued and bowled a decent over. Mujeeb came back and provided the breakthrough for Afghanistan as he removed Sharafu for 40 off 31 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name as he mistimed it to Ibrahim Zadran at long-off. Syed Haider Shah came out to bat next and got off the mark as well.
Rashid continued as the 100 came up for UAE in 12.3 overs. Shah got a streaky boundary with a top edge over short fine leg for a boundary. Noor continued as Shah muscled the ball over deep square leg for the maximum. UAE were 113/3 in 14 overs when we paused for the Drinks Break. Omarzai returned to the attack and he got rid of Shah for 13 off 10 balls with one four and one six to his name as he was knocked over here. Harshit Kaushik came out to bat next.
Omarzai struck again as he dismissed Kaushik for a bronze duck with the outside edge taken by the keeper Gurbaz and the review was burnt as well. Muhammad Arfan came out to bat as well. At the end of 15 overs, UAE reached 114/5 with Sohaib Khan unbeaten on 46 off 36 balls and Arfan unbeaten on 0 off 1 ball.
Afghanistan chip away at wickets to keep UAE down to 160/9.Â
Rashid Khan continued as Sohaib went big by launching the bowler down the ground for the maximum and got to his fifty in 37 balls. Rashid got another as Arfan tried to reverse sweep him and missed the ball and hit his wicket to be dismissed for a silver duck as it was wicket number 700 in T20s for Rashid. Haider Ali came out to bat next as Rashid finished his spell.
Gulbadin Naib came into the attack next and we had a no ball from the bowler. But free hit did not yield anything. Haider survived a close LBW appeal as umpire’s call saved the batter. Sharifi came back into the attack as Sohaib picked the length up and swivelled it away with a pull over deep backward square leg for the maximum. Haider punched the bowler through covers for a boundary and then slashed the ball away over short third fielder for a boundary.
Omarzai came to bowl the 19th over as Khan crunched the ball past sweeper cover for a boundary as the 150 came up for UAE in 18.2 overs. Omarzai got another as he dismissed Sohaib for 68 off 48 balls with 6 fours and 4 sixes to his name to the short fine leg fielder. Simranjeet Singh Kang came out to bat next. He got off the mark as well. Sharifi came to bowl the last over of the innings and we had a run out as Haider was run out for 13 off 12 balls with 2 fours to his name.
Junaid Siddique came in next and got off the mark with a couple and then we had another run out as Siddique was run out for 3 off 2 balls. Kang remained unbeaten on 3 off 4 balls as UAE finished with 160/9 in 20 overs. 10 extras given by the fielding side.
Azmatullah Omarzai was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan with figures of 4/15 in 4 overs. Mujeeb Ur Rahman finished with 2/31 in 4 overs. Rashid Khan finished with 1/24 in 4 overs. There were two run outs in the innings. Ziaur Rahman Sharifi finished with 0/43 in 4 overs. Noor Ahmad finished with 0/35 in 3 overs. Gulbadin Naib finished with 0/8 in 1 over. So, the target for Afghanistan was 161 runs to keep their hopes alive.
Who’s Winning, Afghanistan or UAE?Â
The match is in the balance as UAE have managed to get to a par score. They could have gotten to around 180 but lost wickets in the middle phase and ended up with 160/9 in 20 overs. This is a good score as Afghanistan are not known as great chasers. So, this match is up for grabs.
Let’s see how the second innings pans out for all of us from here.
Also Read:Â ICC T20 WC 2026: Afghanistan & UAE Starts Well In 1st Half Of The Innings.