Shaheen Afridi made a little cameo in batting and gave Pakistan a decent total to defend during the Asia Cup 2025 game against United Arab Emirates at Dubai.
His 29 runs off 14 deliveries included 3 fours and 2 sixes pushing the side total close to 150 run mark. Pakistan suffered a batting collaspe in the line up and despite Zaman’s fifty the side went on to post only 146 runs in their 20 over innings.
After being put to bat first, Shaibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub opened the innings for Pakistan while Junaid Siddique opened the attack.
With the dismissal of Ayub for duck, Siddique went on the pick the wicket of Farhan for 5 runs. However, Fakhan Zaman and Salman Agha quickly revived the innings after quick dismissals scoring 39 runs in the powerplay.
The duo went on to stitch 61-run partnership for the third wicket before Dhruv Parashar bagged the wicket of Salman Agha for 20 runs.
With the fall of wickets at regular intervals, Fakhar Zaman went on to slam 36-ball fifty which included 2 fours and 3 sixes.
After his dismissal by Simaranjeet Singh, Pakistan lost back to back wickets losing Hasan Nawaz (3), Khushdil Shah (4) and Mohammad Nawaz (4) runs.
However, Mohammad Haris and Shaheen Afridi tried to anchor the innings before Haris went back to dug out after Siddique bowled him out for 18 runs.
Shaheen Afridi went on to play a cameo scoring 29* runs off 14 deliveries pushing Pakistan’s total to 146 runs before the dismissal of Rauf on a run out.
Junaid Siddique went on to pick four wickets and Simranjeet Singh’s three wickets along with Dhruv Parashar’s crucial wicket has restricted Pakistan for a middling total.
Pakistan put up 1️⃣4️⃣6️⃣ on the board.
UAE were exceptional with the ball, having applied the brakes every-so-often to restrict 🇵🇰 to a middling score.
But in a knockout clash, will Pakistan’s bowlers diplay their class and defend the target?#PAKvUAE #DPWorldAsiaCup2025 #ACC pic.twitter.com/tly3OFxlgp— AsianCricketCouncil (@ACCMedia1) September 17, 2025
Speaking at the toss, Muhammad Waseem said, “Going to bowl first. Today the way the weather is, dew will play a role. Will try to restrict them to a low total. It’s a do or die game. We had a good game in Abu Dhabi. Different pitch and different game today. Jawadullah is out and Simranjeet is in.”
Meanwhile, Salman Agha said, “We wanted to bat first and put them under scoreboard pressure. Great day for us to play a perfect game. They’re a very good side. If we execute our plans for longer periods, we have a chance against any side. Two changes. Sufiyan and Faheem aren’t playing. Haris and Khushdil are in.”
Pakistan Playing 11: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Haris(w), Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha(c), Khushdil Shah, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
United Arab Emirates Playing 11: Alishan Sharafu, Muhammad Waseem(c), Asif Khan, Muhammad Zohaib, Harshit Kaushik, Rahul Chopra(w), Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Muhammad Rohid Khan, Simranjeet Singh, Junaid Siddique
