Pakistan thrashed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 31 runs in the T20I Tri-Nation Series match at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday evening.
Chasing a decent 172-run target for victory, the hosts managed to reach 140/7 in the allocated 20 overs.
Alishan Sharafu was the top scorer for the UAE with 68 runs, followed by skipper Mohammad Waseem, who scored 19 runs. Dhruv Parashar contributed an unbeaten 18 runs, and Haider Ali 12. No other batter could enter the double figures.
Abrar Ahmed secured the T20I career-best figure of 4/9 in his quota of four overs with 15 dot balls. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Nawaz got one wicket each. Haider Ali was run out. Player of the match: Abrar Ahmed.
PAK vs UAE Scorecard:
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Pakistan reached 171/5 in the allocated 20 overs. Fakhar Zaman (77 not out) and Mohammad Nawaz (37 not out) put Pakistan back on track after losing five wickets with just 80 runs on the board.
The set batters plundered 74 runs in the last five overs during a 91-run partnership to enable the Green shirts to set a decent 172-run target for the hosts.
Sahibzada Farhan contributed 16 runs, Mohammad Haris 14 and Saim Ayub 11 runs. Haider Ali bagged two wickets while Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Rohid and Dhruv Prashar took one wicket each.
Pakistan lead the points table with six points. Afghanistan have secured four points. The hosts are looking for their first win in the tournament.
Pakistan and Afghanistan will contest for the final match trophy. Afghanistan beat Pakistan in the second match, while Salman Aga-XI secured victory in the first match.
Pakistan Playing 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, Abrar Ahmed
UAE Playing XI:
Muhammad Waseem (c), Asif Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Rahul Chopra (wk), Ethan D’Souza, Harshit Kaushik, Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali. Muhammad Jawad, Muhammad Rohid, Junaid Siddique
