Fakhar, Shaheen Propel Pakistan To Super Four

LAHORE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Sep, 2025) A brilliant half century by Fakhar Zaman and all-round performance by Shaheen Shah Afridi helped Pakistan beat UAE by 41 runs in the knock-out match and qualify for the Super Fours stage of the T20I Asia Cup at the Dubai International cricket Stadium (DICS) on Wednesday night.

Chasing a modest target of 147, UAE batters could not emulate the performance of their bowlers in the evening and skittled down to 105-10 in 17.4 overs. The top-order batters had showed promise but a superior bowling performance by Pakistani bowlers deprived the UAE batters of what could be the biggest win of their careers.

Openers Alishan Sharafu 12 (8) and captain Muhammad Waseem 14 (15) could not consolidate on the strong start and both the batters were back in the hut by the fifth over with total at 35. Sharafu had already hit a boundary and a six but unnecessary aggression against Shaheen off a yorker length ball cost his wicket while in-form Muhammad Waseem was deceived by a carrom ball Abrar Ahmed was held superbly by Muhammad Nawaz through, as per Wasim Akram, best catch of the tournament so far. Muhammad Zohaib 4 (9) was the third victim.

A 48-run partnership off 51 between Rahul Chopra and Dhruv Prashar had ignited hopes of a surreal celebrations of they chased down the total but the fall of Prashar at the end 14th over dampened the hopes and with the fall of power-hitter Asif Khan 0 (4) in the nest over and Rahul Chopra 35 (35) in the 16th over dashed all hopes of a victory. UAE lost seven wickets in 23 balls for 20 runs due to the superior bowling performance by Pakistani bowlers.

Shaheen, Abrar and Haris Rauf picked a brace as Abrar Ahmed emerged as the most economical bowler as he conceded 13 runs off his quota of four overs. Saim Ayub and Salman Agha picked one wicket each.

Earlier, Fakhar Zaman 50 (36) and an unbeaten cameo of 29 (14) helped Pakistan post respectable total of 146-9 against UAE on a usually slow and sluggish Dubai pitch in a knock-out tie of the Asia Cup 2025. Pakistan had a similar start to their campaign against India when they lost opener Saim Ayub 0 (2) for the second consecutive duck and Sahibzada Farhan 5 (12) by the third over.

Fakhar Zaman 50 (36) and captain Salman Ali Agha 20 (27) added 61 runs for the third wicket partnership off 50 balls and raised hopes to take Pakistan to a good total against but the fall of Salman Ali Agha on the last ball of the 11 over dented the hopes. Fakhar Zaman hit three 6s and two boundaries while Salman Agha could two boundaries.

With the fall of Fakhar in the 14th over, Pakistan had yet another poor run in the middle overs as they lost Hasan Nawaz 3 (4), Khushdil Shah 4 (6) and Muhammad Nawaz 4 (5) by the end of 17th over with the score at 110-7. Mohammad Haris 18 (14) showed some resistance but fell to Siddique in the 19th over. It was Shaheen Shah Afridi who once again saved Pakistan from blushes and played yet another cameo including three boundaries and two 6s. Shaheen remained unbeaten on 29 runs off 14 balls and helped Pakistan post a fighting total, considering the slowness of the pitch, and strengthened his credentials as an all-rounder. Shaheen Afridi had hit four 6s to score an unbeaten 33 (16) against India on Sunday.

If Junaid Siddique restricted Pakistan batters at the start and close of the innings with four wickets for 18 runs, Simranjeet Singh stifled the middle-order batters with his slow left-arm orthodox bowling and claimed three scalps for 26 runs of his quota. Junaid Siddique had dented Pakistani batting prowess with two early wickets of Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan in his first two overs of the innings. Towards the death, Siddique got the better of Muhammad Nawaz and Mohammad Haris. Simranjeet claimed the all-important wickets of Fakhar Zaman 50 (36), Hasan Nawaz 3 (4) and Khushdil Shah 4 (6). Dhruv Prashar bagged the important wicket of captain Salman Agha 20 (27) as he conceded 33 runs off four overs, Haider Ali 4-028-0 and Muhammad Rohid 4-0-36-0 remained wicketless.

Shaheen Shah Afridi was adjudged Player of the Match for his all-round performance.