But in the end, a 41-run triumph was achieved because to Shaheen Shah Afridi‘s all-around performance and the Pakistan bowlers’ collective effort. Pakistan did just enough to maintain focus and earn the victory that ensures their safe passage to the Super Four on an Asia Cup day filled with incredible drama. However, they had to endure a fierce bowling display from the UAE, who gave them a little scare.
Pakistan seemed to have taken their anger off the pitch when the match began an hour late due to the PCB’s threat of brinksmanship about match referee Andy Pycroft’s position. They limped to 17 for 2 after timidly poking and scratching in the opening four overs, and things wouldn’t get much better for the majority of the innings. Simranjeet Singh hit Pakistan with three in the middle, while Junaid Siddique claimed wickets at the top and tail. The only player remaining to keep the innings together was Fakhar Zaman, but even his fifty off of thirty-six balls hardly raised Pakistan’s run rate beyond one run per ball.
Afridi’s final unbeaten 29 off 14 balls provided his team some breathing room, but Pakistan’s bowlers had to save them after a third consecutive poor batting performance.
While Haris Rauf, playing his maiden Asia Cup match, took the wicket of Dhruv Parashar to end a 48-run fourth wicket partnership whose menace had been steadily growing, Afridi had his greatest bowling performance of the competition, breaking through with the wicket of Alishan Sharafu.
As the UAE’s innings came to an end, Abrar Ahmed and Saim Ayub fulfilled their end of the bargain, combining for three wickets for thirty-one in their eight overs. The game was still in the balance with six overs remaining; they needed 62 runs with six wickets in the bag. But the Associates would crumble under the mounting strain, with the final seven wickets falling for 20 runs in 23 balls.
Siddique Junaid doubles up
UAE fast bowler Junaid Siddique has emerged as the leading wicket-taker in a competition that is dominated by spin bowling. He has taken 105 T20I wickets, including four during a brilliant bowling display against Pakistan on Wednesday, and it is not for nothing.
Siddique drew Saim Ayub into a lash outside off for his third consecutive duck of the tournament, building on his earlier 4 for 23 performance against Oman. He went the other way for Sahibzada Farhan, preventing him from forcing a weak chip into the infield, by skilfully varying his pace and lengths.
Pakistan got off to a terrible start, falling to 9 for 2 in the third over, and Waseem squirelled away Siddique’s final two overs to end the match. Siddique once again performed brilliantly there, and the lower-middle order in Pakistan found him equally hard to contain. Before concluding with a slower delivery that had Mohammad Nawaz holing out to leave Pakistan eight down, he struck again in each of his two overs, outfoxing Mohammad Haris as he attempted to paddle him.
Fast bowler Afridi saved the day in similar situations against the UAE after his last-minute batting appearance against India gave Pakistan’s total some competitiveness. In the 17th over, Afridi nearly single-handedly brought Pakistan up to and beyond par with them at 110 for 7. Although he managed to hit two boundaries off Siddique, the most of the runs were scored in an exciting last over.
He started by slapping Muhammad Rohid over mid-off for six before blasting him over square leg for six more, releasing his arms to begin that windmill of a swing. Of the 28 that came off the last two overs, 18 would come from that over, with Afridi hitting 27 in 10 deliveries. It raised Pakistan to 146, putting the hosts under a degree of strain on the scoreboard that eventually hindered them during the chase.
When the moment passed by
For the UAE, the game was proceeding exactly as planned. A fast start with the bat was being followed by an outstanding bowling performance. The first two overs yielded 19 for 0 when Alishan Sharafu hit the opening ball of the innings from Afridi for four.
However, there were indications that Afridi might use the ball to support his batting appearance when he persuaded Sharafu to continue. Waseem, the UAE’s captain, then attempted to continue the innings. Haris Rauf contributed five wides to the run rate, and in the same over, Waseem hit him for a boundary. UAE was 35 for 1 at the end of the fourth.
However, their chase was hampered by the last two overs of the powerplay. Salman Agha turned to face Abrar, who had tricked Waseem with his carrom ball. Their hopes of an upset were severely damaged when Mohammad Nawaz dived in to make a spectacular low catch. Saim Ayub dismissed Muhammad Zohaib in the following over, leaving the UAE reeling at 38 for 3. The UAE’s aspirations were dashed as the asking rate skyrocketed.
India
