Pakistan easily beat a young UAE team by 41 runs on Wednesday in their final group game, leading to an exciting Super 4 match against India in the Asia Cup.
Published: September 18, 2025 2:20 AM IST
Pakistan quickly defeated a less experienced UAE by 41 runs on Wednesday in their last group match, setting up an exciting Super 4 game against India in the Asia Cup. If I talk about the situation of the match, then it was a must-win game for Salman Ali Agha’s side.
Why did the match begin late?
The match began an hour late because Pakistan threatened to leave after the handshake issue in their previous game against India. But Salman Agha’s team changed their mind and played the match. Shaheen Shah Afridi was the star, scoring an unbeaten 29 runs from just 14 balls, helping Pakistan reach a total of 146 for 9, which still looked like a modest score.
How did the UAE perform?
For smaller cricket nations like UAE, scoring more than 130 against Test-playing countries is very difficult because the bowling is much better. UAE managed only 105 runs in 17.4 overs. Choosing to bowl first, Junaid Siddique and left-arm spinner Simranjeet Singh from Ludhiana bowled very well, but Pakistan’s late batting push helped them reach a good total in this important group game.
Simranjeet took 3 wickets for 26 runs in 4 overs, and Junaid took 4 wickets for 18 runs. It was one of the best bowling performances by UAE against a top cricket nation. Pakistan’s top batsmen, except Fakhar Zaman who scored 50 runs from 36 balls, struggled. Mohammed Haris scored 18 runs, and Shaheen Afridi hit 29 runs not out from 14 balls to help reach a fighting total.
What happened in the match?
Early on, Junaid got Saim Ayub out for a duck again. Interestingly, the Pakistan player got out on 0 three consecutive times in the Asia Cup 2025 and Sahibzada Farhan also got out cheaply. In the middle overs, the ball was tricky because Simranjeet’s deliveries bounced and spun a lot. One of his balls got Fakhar out as he tried to play a drive.
Mohammed Nawaz was caught out by an arm ball from Simranjeet, who celebrated by slapping his thigh in a ‘Siddhu Moosewala’ style. In the end, Shaheen’s powerful hitting helped Pakistan reach near 150, which was too much for the UAE to chase.
Story Highlights:
- Pakistan beat a less experienced UAE by 41 runs at Dubai International Stadium.
- Pakistan qualified for the Super 4s in the Asia Cup 2025.
- Pakistan threatened to leave after the handshake issue in their previous game against India.
About the Author
