Pakistan 207 all out (Ayub 69, Hasan Nawaz 56, Saghir 3-44) beat UAE 176 for 8 (Asif 77, Waseem 33, Hasan Ali 3-47) by 31 runs
Pakistan sealed their second consecutive victory in Sharjah with a commanding 31-run win over UAE. Half-centuries from Saim Ayub and Hasan Nawaz set the tone as Pakistan piled up 207, their joint third-highest men’s T20I total.
UAE’s chase relied heavily on captain Muhammad Waseem, but his early dismissal derailed their hopes. Despite a late onslaught from Asif Khan, the hosts fell short.
Ayub’s Aggressive Start
Returning from injury, Saim Ayub produced one of his most fluent innings of the year. He smashed 22 runs off Junaid Siddique’s third over and reached his half-century in just 25 balls. Boundaries flowed throughout, keeping Pakistan above nine runs an over.
Ayub eventually fell for 69 off 38 balls, controversially given out caught behind in a series without DRS.
“𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒄 𝑨𝒚𝒖𝒃 — 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚, 𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚,” 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝑷𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒊 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓.
Nawaz and the Late Surge
With Ayub gone, Hasan Nawaz took charge, hammering 56 off just 26 balls. He tore into UAE’s spinner Haider Ali, smashing 18 runs off the first three balls of his final over.
Pakistan looked in danger after losing their sixth wicket at 163, but late cameos from Mohammad Nawaz (25), Faheem Ashraf (16) and Hasan Ali (9) added 44 runs in the final four overs to push the total past 200.
Asif Khan’s Counterattack
UAE’s hopes were revived briefly by Asif Khan, who blasted 77 off 35 balls. He turned the game into a late fireworks show, hammering Hasan Ali, Muqim, and Salman Mirza to all parts of the ground.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 — 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂 𝑼𝑨𝑬 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍.
However, the chase was always out of reach. By the time Asif accelerated, UAE needed 122 off seven overs. Hasan Ali eventually dismissed him in the final over, but Asif walked off with a smile, knowing his knock lifted UAE above Afghanistan on net run rate.
Also Read: Asia Cup 2025: Match Timings Shifted Due to UAE Heat
