Pakistan thump UAE by 31 runs in T20 tri-series

SHARJAH: Spinner Abrar Ahmed bagged a four-fer as Pakistan defeated the UAE by 31 runs in their second encounter in the T20 tri-series on Thursday.

Chasing 172, the UAE were restricted to 140/7 despite Alishan Sharafu’s 68-run knock.

The UAE were off to a strong start as Sharafu and captain Mohammad Waseem provided them with a 41-run opening stand in six overs.

Shaheen Afridi broke the opening stand in the seventh over when he removed Waseem for 19.

Ethan D’Souza then joined Sharafu, who continued his assault on Pakistan’s bowling lineup.

However, he could not get much support from the other end as D’Souza fell to Mohammad Nawaz for nine.

Abrar Ahmed then dismissed the dangerous Asif Khan (7) and Rahul Chopra for a duck in the 13th over to reduce the UAE to 84/4 in 12.5 overs.

Harshit Kaushik became Abrar’s third victim in the game after scoring just three runs.

Alishan Sharafu’s inning came to an end in the 17th over when he was dismissed by Abrar Ahmed as the hosts sank to 113/6 in 17 overs.

Haider Ali was run out after scoring 12 runs on the third ball of the final over.

Dhruv Parashar remained unbeaten on 18 off 15 alongside Junaid Siddique (0) as the UAE fell 31 runs short of target.

For Pakistan, Abrar Ahmed picked up four wickets, conceding just nines run from his four overs, while Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Nawaz took a wicket each.

Earlier, Fakhar Zaman scored an unbeaten 77 as Pakistan set a 172-run target for the hosts.

Pakistan’s opening pair’s struggles continued as both openers were back to the pavilion inside the first powerplay after Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first.

Sahibzada Farhan was dismissed for 16 off 11 balls in just the third over of the innings, bringing Fakhar Zaman to the crease.

Saim Ayub made 11 off 10 before his dismissal on the first ball of the fifth over as Pakistan were reduced to 35/2 in 4.1 overs.

Following Ayub’s departure, Salman Agha arrived at the crease for a seven-run brief stay.

Wicketkeeping batter Mohammad Haris fell to UAE’s Haider Ali after making 14 off 17 balls, while Hasan Nawaz could score four runs before becoming Ali’s second victim in the game.

With half of Pakistan’s side back at the dugout at 80 in 11.3 overs, Mohammad Nawaz joined Fakhar Zaman to rebuild the innings.

The two shared an unbeaten 91-run stand off 51 balls to help Pakistan post 171/5 on the scoreboard.

Fakhar made unbeaten 77 off 44 balls, laced with 10 fours and two sixes.

Mohammad Nawaz remained unbeaten on 37 off 27 balls, with the help of three fours and two sixes.

Pakistan XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Ali Agha (c), Hasan Nawaz, Muhammad Nawaz, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Salman Mirza and Abrar Ahmed.

UAE XI: Muhammad Waseem (c), Asif Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Rahul Chopra (wk), Ethan D’Souza, Harshit Kaushik, Shruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Muhammad Jawad, Muhammad Rohid and Junaid Siddique.

The Men in Green top the points table of the tri-series, also involving Afghanistan.

They have four points from their three games, winning two and losing a game.

Afghanistan also have the same amount of points, however, they are second on the table due to an inferior runrate.

The UAE sit at the bottom with no points from their two games of the ongoing tri-series.