Pakistan vs United Arab Emirates, 10th Match, Group A
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It's supposed to be a virtual knockout between UAE and Pakistan on Wednesday for a berth in Super 4s in Asia Cup 2025. It will still be, provided Pakistan take the field.
India's stance on skipping the customary toss and post-match handshakes with Pakistan - conveyed across by match referee Andy Pycroft - has had a cascading effect on entire Group A. Pakistan protested by not showing up for the post-match presentation after the loss to India, their coach called it a "flow and effect" of India's "unsporting behaviour", and the PCB then threatened to not take the field next if Pycroft is the match official for their future games - which he is on Wednesday.
ICC, on its part, has officially struck down PCB's demand, putting the ball in Pakistan's court. Will they stand their ground? Can they afford to? Because, while all of this was unfolding in boardrooms, UAE convincingly beat Oman in Abu Dhabi last night to knock them out of the competition and also send India through to the next round from Group A - meaning only either one of them or Pakistan can now progress. And, a moral dilemma for Pakistan - it's pride at stake either way.
On the field, both Pakistan and UAE humbled Oman and were overwhelmed by India to find themselves in this winners-takes-all contest.
When: Wednesday, September 17 at 6:30 PM Local (8:00 PM IST)
Where: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
What to expect: More heat and humidity, and wickets to spin.
Head-to-Head: UAE have their task cut out in their bid to make history, because Pakistan have won all three games against them in the format. This includes the one in the 2016 Asia Cup. Pakistan also won both matches against UAE of the recent tri-series.
Teams watch
UAE
Injuries/Unavailability: None reported.
Tactics & Match-ups: Pakistan's pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi could be the one they'll look to go after early. Afridi's PowerPlay numbers have dropped significantly this year. He conceded runs at 10.25 and is yet to pick up a wicket in the first-six overs in this tournament. With UAE openers both among runs, this could be an exciting subplot upfront.
Probable XI: Alishan Sharafu, Muhammad Waseem (c), Muhammad Zohaib, Rahul Chopra (wk), Asif Khan, Harshit Kaushik, Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Muhammad Rohid Khan, Muhammad Jawadullah, Junaid Siddique
PakistanInjuries/Unavailability: No concerns on that front in Pakistan's camp either.
Tactics & Match-ups: Post 2024 World Cup, only India's spin unit have picked up more wickets than Pakistan's tally of 91 in 29 matches at an average of 18.09. With helpful conditions on offer in Dubai, they're going to be a handful for even the home side. It's going to be a trial by spin for UAE.
Probable XI: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Haris (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha (c), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed
Did you know?
- UAE skipper Muhammad Waseem is only the second player from an Associate nation to get to 3000 T20I runs after Virandeep Singh of Malaysia.
- Haider Ali has taken a wicket off the first ball of his spell in four out of his 15 T20I appearances.
- Afridi's struggles aside, no pace unit has picked more wickets since the conclusion of 2024 T20 World Cup to beat Pakistan's tally of 102 at 23.12.
Squads:
United Arab Emirates Squad: Alishan Sharafu, Muhammad Waseem(c), Asif Khan, Muhammad Zohaib, Harshit Kaushik, Rahul Chopra(w), Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Muhammad Rohid Khan, Muhammad Jawadullah, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Aryansh Sharma, Matiullah Khan, Ethan DSouza, Simranjeet Singh, Saghir Khan
Pakistan Squad: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Haris(w), Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha(c), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed, Hussain Talat, Hasan Ali, Khushdil Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Salman Mirza
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Asia Cup: Pakistan beat UAE to enter Super Fours; face India on Sunday
After a delayed start, Pakistan bagged a 41-run win in Dubai to qualify for the next round of Asia Cup 2025.
Pakistan overcame a brief batting collapse on the field and a tumultuous period off it to beat the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 41 runs and qualify for the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup cricket tournament in Dubai.
In a match that was once uncertain, then delayed by an hour, Pakistan posted 146-9 in their 20 overs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
The two-time Asian champions were then able to dismiss the UAE for 105 in 17.4 overs to ensure their place in the next phase of the regional T20 tournament.
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AP25260684025249-1758136813.webp (28.79 KiB) Viewed 19 times
Despite losing three early wickets, the UAE looked in a position to hand Pakistan a shock defeat as Rahul Chopra 35 (35) and Dhruv Parashar 20 (23) formed a 48-run partnership.
However, when fast bowler Haris Rauf dismissed Parashar in the 14th over, the UAE’s wickets fell in a heap over the next 22 deliveries.
Shaheen Shah Afridi, Abrar Ahmed and Rauf took two wickets apiece.
Earlier, veteran top-order batter Fakhar Zaman top-scored with 50 off 36 balls to give Pakistan a chance to post a defendable total after both of their openers were dismissed in the third over.
Zaman formed a brief partnership with captain Salman Agha, who scored 20 runs off 27 balls, but it wasn’t until Afridi’s 14-ball-29 that Pakistan looked like giving the UAE a tricky target.
The win sends Pakistan through as the second-best team from Group A, behind India, whom they will face in the round-robin style Super Fours on Sunday.
Sri Lanka are the only team to have qualified from Group B, where Bangladesh and Afghanistan will fight for the second spot.
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Given how their campaign turned out in the T20 World Cup last year, Afghanistan were certainly one of the favourites to progress to the Super Four. However, heading into their final group game, they are now in must-win territory after the setback against Bangladesh. Their batting lineup has come under the scanner now in the tournament even though the sample size is just two games.
Sediqullah Atal and Azmatullah Omarzai were the only big contributors in their big win over Hong Kong. The rest didn't fire against Bangladesh as well and with Atal getting dismissed for a golden duck, the task only got tougher. Omarzai sizzled, though, striking some monstrous sixes but Afghanistan clearly need more players to stand up in that middle order. And this needs to happen against a side that's been largely impressive in the tournament so far.
Sri Lanka have largely kept the runs down and with the bat, they have looked good except for that wobble towards the end of the chase against Hong Kong. While in an ideal world they wouldn't have wanted their qualification to depend on this result, a three-way tie on points will be in store if they slip up. In such a scenario, Afghanistan will certainly go through and Sri Lanka's progress will depend on the margin of the loss. For example, if Sri Lanka chase 160, they will need to score at least 93 to stay ahead of Bangladesh's NRR. If they defend 160, they will have to ensure Afghanistan take at least 11.3 overs to chase the target down. Ideally, they would back themselves to tick any of these boxes as a bare minimum.
When: Thursday, September 18 at 6:30 PM local time (8 PM IST)
Where: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
What to expect: Teams batting first have won three out of the five games so far. And in general, Afghanistan do prefer batting first and setting a target. In the only game Sri Lanka have played here this campaign, they chased down 140 against Bangladesh inside 15 overs.
Teams Watch
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka did leave out Matheesha Pathirana after his poor outing against Bangladesh and they will likely stick with that combination given how miserly Maheesh Theekshana was.
Tactics & Matchups: Over the last year, Sri Lanka have fared much better than Afghanistan in the powerplay. Given how matches have been won and lost in that phase this tournament, Sri Lanka will be trying to get the upper hand with both bat and especially with the ball given Afghanistan's recent opening woes ever since they moved Ibrahim Zadran down to No.3.
Afghanistan
Despite the tight loss to Bangladesh, Afghanistan will be tempted to stick with the same combination for this crucial clash.
Probable XI: Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan(c), Noor Ahmad, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Tactics & Matchups: Azmatullah Omarzai, the reigning ODI player of the year, has been their best player in both games. Initially struggling to make an impact in T20Is, Omarzai is striking the ball at over 172 in 2025 in the format and has already broken the record for the fastest fifty by an Afghanistan batter earlier in the tournament. The 2024 T20 WC semi finalists might contemplate giving him a promotion.
Did you know?
- Across their T20I history, Afghanistan have not successfully chased down a 140+ target against a full member team other than Zimbabwe.
- Since Jan 2024, only India and Australia have fared better than Afghanistan in terms of win percentage when batting first while in run chases, Afghanistan are the worst side (among full members).
What they said:
"We are very optimistic (against Sri Lanka). We have played two games here and if we win on Thursday, we go on top of the group. There's plenty to play for. There is disappointment but we have to dust ourselves off. There are ups and downs. You have to make sure you have to ride those waves. We have to bounce back on Thursday. If we can win well, it gives us a lot of confidence. There's plenty to play for. We should have played better, but we have to pull our socks up for Thursday" - Jonathan Trott, Afghanistan head coach.
Squads:
Afghanistan Squad: Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan(c), Noor Ahmad, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Mohammad Ishaq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Darwish Rasooli, Sharafuddin Ashraf
Sri Lanka Squad: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Kamil Mishara, Kusal Perera, Dasun Shanaka, Charith Asalanka(c), Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara, Nuwanidu Fernando, Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Chamika Karunaratne, Binura Fernando, Matheesha Pathirana
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