Afghanistan registered their first points in the tri-series after a dominant 38-run victory over UAE in Sharjah. Rashid Khan and Sharafudin Ashraf starred with the ball, dismantling UAE’s middle order after strong batting performances from Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal set up a solid total.
Afghanistan Recover After Early Setback
Put into bat, Afghanistan struggled initially as Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell cheaply, leaving the pressure on the top order. But Ibrahim Zadran (63) and Sediqullah Atal (54) stitched together a crucial 84-run stand to turn the momentum. Their calculated aggression ensured Afghanistan went past 180 despite UAE’s disciplined bowling early on.
𝑨 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒐 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑲𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒎 𝑱𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒔, 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 22 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓. “𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 — 𝒊𝒕 𝒑𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝑨𝒇𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓,” 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒔𝒕.
Rashid Turns the Game Around
UAE’s chase began brightly with skipper Muhammad Waseem blazing a 37-ball 67, keeping his side ahead of the required rate. But once he fell to Ashraf, the innings unraveled quickly.
Rashid Khan, who claimed 3 for 21, delivered the killer blows. He dismissed Asif Khan first ball and later sent back Ethan D’Souza and Dhruv Parashar, sealing the game. “Rashid always finds a way to deliver when the pressure is highest,” said Afghanistan’s coach after the match.
Despite Rahul Chopra’s fighting unbeaten 52, UAE fell short, finishing at 150 for 8. Afghanistan sealed the win with ease, securing momentum in the tri-series.
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