Pakistan’s spinner Abrar Ahmed showcased a brilliant performance in the UAE tri-series, propelling his team into the final. He displayed exceptional control, bowling 15 dot balls out of 24 against the UAE. His impressive figures included four wickets, aiding Pakistan in securing a comfortable win over UAE, marking their second consecutive triumph in the series. This result also meant a hat-trick of defeats for UAE, thus ending their campaign, following an earlier loss to Afghanistan.
Playing his first match in the UAE tri-series, Abrar Ahmed made the most of the opportunity. UAE, chasing a target of 172 runs, began well with their opening batsmen. However, Abrar Ahmed broke the initial partnership by dismissing the in-form captain Muhammad Waseem (19). He then proceeded to cement Pakistan’s dominance by taking two wickets in two deliveries during the 13th over.
In the match, Abrar Ahmed’s bowling figures were remarkable; he conceded only 9 runs in 4 overs while claiming 4 wickets. He was particularly effective, dismissing three UAE batsmen in a span of just 8 balls. Earlier in the match, Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman scored a half-century.
In the fifth match of the series, after electing to bat, Pakistan faced an early setback against UAE, losing five wickets with only 80 runs on the board. Fakhar Zaman and all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz stabilized the innings with an unbroken partnership of 91 runs in 51 balls for the fifth wicket. This effort helped Pakistan post a score of 171 runs for five wickets in their 20 overs against UAE.
Fakhar Zaman scored an unbeaten 77 runs from 44 balls, including 10 fours and 2 sixes. Mohammad Nawaz added an unbeaten 37 runs from 27 balls, consisting of 3 fours and 2 sixes. The other batsmen failed to make significant contributions. For UAE, Haider Ali took 2 wickets, while Junaid Siddiqui, Muhammad Rohid and Dhruv Parashar each took a wicket. UAE’s innings started with a promising opening partnership.
Chasing 172 runs, UAE started their innings well. A partnership of 41 runs was established between captain Muhammad Waseem and Alishan Sharafu for the first wicket. However, Abrar Ahmed dismissed Muhammad Waseem, who scored 19 runs off 19 balls. UAE’s batting faltered after that, and they managed only 140 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 20 overs.
Alishan Sharafu was the highest scorer for UAE, with 68 runs off 51 balls, which included 4 fours and 4 sixes. Dhruv Parashar remained unbeaten with 18 runs. Besides Abrar Ahmed’s dominant performance, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Nawaz each took one wicket for Pakistan.