Afghanistan held their nerves when it really mattered and held their nerves by eking out a 4-run win over defiant UAE in a thrilling 6th and final league game at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Afghanistan who made wholesale changes to their line-up due to workload management just about played the big moments better and deserved the win in the end. Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Afghanistan rode on a couple of 40s from stand-in captain Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz alongside a few 20s down the order to post a healthy 170/4 in 20 overs. Haider Ali bowled well for UAE with figures of 2/23 in 4 overs.
In reply, UAE rode on captain Muhammad Waseem’s 44 and Asif Khan’s 40 to get close to the target. But Afghanistan held their nerves as the bowlers kept thing tight and managed to put enough pressure on hosts UAE to eke out the win and it was heartbreak for UAE who came close to the finishing line but couldn’t cross it. They will take positives from this game for sure. Afghanistan win their 3rd game in 4 games and will have their main team back when they take on Pakistan on Sunday in the summit clash as UAE ends winless after 4 games.
Ibrahim Zadran & Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s Attractive 40s propels Afghanistan to 170/4
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Rahmanullah Gurbaz walked out to bat alongside stand-in captain Ibrahim Zadran while Junaid Siddique had ball in hand for UAE. Siddique bowled a tidy first over. Muhammad Rohid Khan was given the ball from the other end. Rohid too kept things under check. Gurbaz finally broke the shackles by smashing a maximum over long-off and a boundary through third man region.
Haider Ali came into the attack next and he too bowled a miserly over. Ibrahim then took the attack to Rohid Khan by smashing him over deep square leg for the maximum and then through mid-off for a boundary. Gurbaz was given a reprieve as Alishan Sharafu dropped him running back from mid-on off Rohid. Haider bowled the final over of powerplay and kept the runs under check. After the powerplay of 6 overs, Afghanistan were 40/0 and off to a steady start.
Simranjeet Singh Kang came into the attack post the powerplay. Gurbaz finally got a boundary by sweeping through deep backward square leg. Muhammad Farooq came into the attack next. The 50 came up and of the partnership between the two players. Farooq too kept things under check. Kang bowled another over where runs came in singles as boundaries had dried up. Ibrahim then took the attack to Farooq by hitting him over deep midwicket for the maximum and then cut him through backward point for a boundary.
After 10 overs at the halfway stage of the innings, Afghanistan were 73/0 when players took the Drinks Break. Ibrahim managed to cut Kang towards deep backward point for a boundary. Ibrahim smashed Farooq down the ground over long-off for the maximum. Farooq gifted away 5 runs via wides to the batting side. Gurbaz then hit Farooq through point region for a boundary. Farooq hit back and got rid of Gurbaz for 40 off 38 balls with 3 fours and a maximum to his name.
He bowled it full and flighted outside off-stump, Gurbaz strode forward and lofted it towards long-off region. The ball flew straight into the hands of the fielder at wide long-off who made no mistake. Mohammad Ishaq came out to bat at 3. Haider returned and got rid of Ibrahim for 48 off 35 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes to his name. He bowled a length delivery on middle from around the wicket. Ibrahim looked to push it straight but the ball straightened to strike the top of the middle stump. Karim Janat came out to bat next and got off the mark straightaway.
The 100 came up for Afghanistan in 12.4 overs. Harshit Kaushik was now introduced into the attack. Janat showed his power by lofting Kaushik over long-off for the maximum. Kang got rid of Ishaq for 5 off 10 balls next. He bowled it slow length delivery wide of off-stump, Ishaq ran down the track and looked to slog but the ball turned away to go past the outside edge. Good catch taken by keeper batter Rahul Chopra who whipped off the bails as the replays showed the batter was short of his ground. Gulbadin Naib came out to bat next.
After 15 overs, Afghanistan were 114/3. Karim Janat took the attack to Kaushik by pulling him over deep backward square leg for the maximum. He lofted Kaushik down the ground for a boundary as well. Karim next took on Haider Ali and deposited him down the ground for the maximum. Haider hit back and had the last laugh dismissing Janat for 28 off 14 balls with one four and 3 sixes to his name.
He bowled a length delivery outside off-stump, Karim looked to go over extra cover but got a thick outside edge to backward point where captain Muhammad Waseem jumped to his left to take a good catch. Azmatullah Omarzai came into bat next. Siddique returned and was welcomed back with a boundary by Naib through deep midwicket. Few balls later, Naib pulled through deep backward square leg for a boundary. Rohid returned as Omarzai was now dropped at cover point by Simranjeet Singh Kang. A touch chance diving but should have been taken.
Omarzai added salt to the wounds by edging a boundary through short third man. Siddique came to bowl the final over as Omarzai scoops him over short fine leg for a boundary. Strangely, Gulbadin Naib ducked underneath the final ball of the innings as Afghanistan finished with 170/4 in 20 overs. Naib’s 20* off 14 balls was laced with 2 boundaries while Omarzai’s 14* off 9 balls was laced with 2 boundaries as well. 15 extras gifted by UAE which included 13 wides.
Haider Ali was the pick of the bowlers for UAE finishing with 2/23 in 4 overs. He was ably supported by Simranjeet Singh Kang who finished with 1/24 in 4 overs. Muhammad Farooq got a wicket but went for 36 runs in 3 overs. Junaid Siddique gave away 34 runs in 4 overs. Muhammad Rohid Khan gave 27 runs in 3 overs and Harshit Kaushik’s 2 overs went for 24 runs. It meant UAE needed 171 to win off 20 overs to pull off an upset in Sharjah.
Muhammad Waseem & Asif Khan’s valiant knocks goes in vain as UAE falls short by 4 runs
Chasing 171 for the win, Alishan Sharafu walked out to bat with captain Muhammad Waseem for UAE. Fareed Ahmad Malik had ball in hand for Afghanistan. Sharafu started with a bang by glancing a boundary to the left of the keeper. Mujeeb Ur Rahman was given the ball from the other end. Waseem took him on and went inside out over deep extra cover for the maximum. Sharafu then flicked Malik over deep backward square leg for the maximum. Waseem too hit Malik straight down the ground for the maximum.
Mujeeb continued and Waseem slapped him through extra cover and mid-off for a boundary. Sharafuddin Ashraf was introduced into the attack next. He bowled a decent first over. Azmatullah Omarzai came into the attack to bowl the final over of powerplay. Sharafu took him on by hitting a boundary through third man before Waseem upper cut him right of short third man for a boundary. After 6 overs of powerplay, UAE were off to a racing start at 54/0 chasing 171 for the win.
Ashraf continued after the powerplay and bowled a decent over. Noor Ahmad was next introduced into the attack. Sharafu cut Noor through backward point and point for a boundary. But Noor hit back a few balls later getting rid of Sharafu for 27 off 23 balls with 3 fours and a maximum to his name. Noor bowled it full and flighted at the off-stump line, Sharafu made room to slog this out of the park. However, he got it off the cue end of the bat and the ball skied towards the sprinting long-off fielder who took a splendid catch. Ashraf the man with the catch. Mohammad Zuhaib Khan came out to bat next and got off the mark straightaway.
Abdullah Ahmadzai came onto bowl next on debut. Zuhaib carves him over backward point for a boundary. Noor bowled a decent over keeping things tight as UAE reached 79/1 after 10 overs at the halfway stage of the chase and needed 92 runs off 60 balls when players took Drinks Break. Ahmadzai continued after the break as Waseem cut him over short third for the maximum. But the debutant hit back getting rid of Waseem for 44 off 29 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes to his name.
He bowled it short of a length outside off-stump, Waseem looked to play the upper cut again but managed an outside edge which was pouched by Ishaq behind the stumps. Keeper batter Rahul Chopra came out to bat next and got off the mark straightaway. Gulbadin Naib came into the attack and was greeted by the maximum by Zuhaib over wide long-off for a maximum. Zuhaib slammed Naib towards long-off for a boundary. The 100 came up for UAE in 11.5 overs. Chopra managed to get a boundary through backward point region off Naib.
Ashraf returned to the attack and got rid of Zuhaib Khan for 23 off 19 balls with 2 fours and a maximum to his name. Ashraf aired it up near middle and leg stump, Zuhaib came down the ground and went for the heave but didn’t get enough to clear the ropes. The catch was taken at deep midwicket by Ibrahim Zadran. Asif Khan came to the crease next and got off the mark as well. Noor returned and bowled a tidy over. Mujeeb came back and got rid of Rahul Chopra for 7 off 9 balls with a boundary to his name.
Mujeeb tossed it up full and aired it as well around middle and leg stump, Chopra went for the wild hack and miscued it towards the fielder at long-on. Harshit Kaushik came out to bat next and got off the mark straightaway. After 15 overs, UAE were 115/4 and now needed 56 off 30 balls. Noor bowled a tight over as well to finish his spell as the equation boiled down to 51 off 24 balls. Kaushik got a much-needed maximum off Mujeeb over deep square leg region.
Ahmadzai returned to the attack with 43 needed off 18 balls. He was welcomed back with a boundary through deep midwicket and long-on. Few balls later Asif cut loose as he hit Ahmadzai over deep midwicket for the maximum and a boundary through fine leg region. The equation came down to 27 runs off 12 balls. Ashraf came to bowl the penultimate over of the match as Asif survived a close stumping appeal by TV umpire. Asif managed to get a boundary through long-on region. Kaushik joined the party by slashing it away through deep backward square leg for a boundary.
UAE needed 17 off the final 6 balls as Fareed Ahmad Malik was give the task to bowl it. Asif started the over well with a
boundary through third man region and a maximum over sweeper cover to bring the equation down to 7 needed off 4 balls. Asif managed to get a quick couple of runs to bring it down to 5 off 3 balls. Malik hit back by bowling two dot balls. With 5 needed off the final ball, Asif was dismissed by Malik who held his nerve for 40 off 28 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to his name.
Malik bowled it a tad full wide outside the off-stump, Asif went a tad across the line and tried to hack it down the ground. He didn’t get the kind of timing that he would have wanted. He got it off the outside half of the bat and the ball went high up in the air. Gurbaz at long-off settled underneath it and took the catch despite seeing Ibrahim in his periphery. Asif was distraught and so were UAE as Afghanistan eked out a 4-run win. Kaushik remained unbeaten on 15 off 12 balls with one four and one six to his name. 10 extras given by Afghanistan as UAE finished with 166/5 in 20 overs.
Sharafuddin Ashraf was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 1/20 in 4 overs. Noor Ahmad bowled well for his 1/23 in 4 overs. Mujeeb Ur Rahman finished with 1/27 in 4 overs. Ahmadzai went for 31 runs in his 3 overs for 1 wicket on debut. Fareed Ahmad Malik finished with 1/35 in 3 overs holding his nerve in the end. Omarzai’s only over went for 10 runs while Naib’s solitary over went for 17 runs. So, Afghanistan beat UAE by 4 runs and for his crucial knock and captaincy under pressure, Ibrahim Zadran was awarded Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead
The stage is set for the grand finale of the UAE T20I Tri-Series 2025 on Sunday 7th September 2025 at 8:30 PM IST as Pakistan will take on Afghanistan at Sharjah. Both teams won 3 out of 4 games and separated their two meetings by 1-1. So, it’s all to play for as bragging rights and trophy at stake as both teams will play their best XI on Sunday.
Which team will come out on top on Sunday evening? Only time will tell as we could be in for a thrilling climax to what has indeed been an exciting Tri-Series.
Also Read: UAE Tri-Series 2025: Afghanistan Register An Impressive Win Over Pakistan.