Pakistan survived an early scare against UAE before pulling off a 41-run victory to book their place in the Asia Cup Super Four. Fakhar Zaman’s steady fifty and Shaheen Shah Afridi’s all-round heroics ensured the Men in Green avoided an upset despite another fragile batting display.
Pakistan’s Batting Struggles Continue
The start wasn’t promising for Pakistan, as they stumbled to 17 for 2 inside four overs. Junaid Siddique struck early and late, finishing with an excellent 4 for 18, while Simranjeet Singh added three wickets in the middle overs. Fakhar Zaman fought hard with a 36-ball 50, but the innings lacked momentum.
Shaheen Afridi provided the late fireworks Pakistan desperately needed, smashing 29* off just 14 balls. His late blitz, including two towering sixes in the final over, pushed Pakistan to 146 for 9.
“𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒊 𝒂𝒍𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆-𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑷𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈.”
Pakistan Bowlers Seal the Game
Defending a modest target, Pakistan’s bowlers turned the game around. Afridi struck again with the ball, removing Alishan Sharafu, while Haris Rauf and Abrar Ahmed chipped in with crucial wickets. UAE’s chase looked threatening at 67 for 3, but once pressure mounted, they collapsed dramatically, losing their last seven wickets for just 20 runs.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑼𝑨𝑬 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑷𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒑𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚.”
Siddique’s Spell in Vain
UAE pacer Junaid Siddique once again showcased his skills, adding four more wickets to his tally after a brilliant performance earlier in the tournament. Despite his efforts, UAE’s batting faltered in key moments and couldn’t withstand Pakistan’s bowling attack.
Pakistan now move forward to the Super Four, though concerns over their batting remain, with bowlers yet again bailing out the team.
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