Pakistan beat the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 41 runs in Dubai to reach the Super-Four stage of the T20I Asia Cup.
Chasing a decent 147-run target for victory, the UAE were bundled out for 105 in 17.4 overs.
Player of the match, Shaheen Afridi, provided the first breakthrough as he bowled Alishan Sharafu in the third over for 21. Abrar Ahmed provided his side with the second wicket when he dismissed skipper Muhammad Waseem, leaving UAE at 35-2.
Saim clean-bowled Muhammad Zohaib in the sixth over to leave the scoreboard at 37-3. Dhruv Parashar and Rahul Chopra then steadied the innings, guiding their side to 61-3 at the halfway stage.
Haris Rauf broke the partnership by removing Dhruv, with the UAE still needing 62 runs. Abrar struck in the very next over, dismissing Asif Khan for a four-ball duck, before Agha accounted for Rahul in the following over, reducing UAE to 97-6 after 16 overs.
Shaheen removed Harshit for a golden duck in the next over, and a sharp direct hit from Farhan accounted for Simranjeet in the following over. In the same over, Rauf struck again by dismissing Haider and then ran out Muhammad Rohid off the very next ball, sealing Pakistan’s 41-run win.
Pakistan Innings:
After being put in to bat, Pakistan lost the opening duo for nine runs in 2.4 overs. Fakhar Zaman and skipper Salman Ali Agha then steadied the ship. Pakistan found themselves 39-2 after six overs and 67-2 at the halfway stage of the innings.
After stitching a 61-run partnership with Fakhar, Agha perished in the 11th over after scoring a 27-ball 20.
Fakhar reached his 13th T20I half-century off 35 balls. But he got dismissed on the very next ball. Hasan Nawaz (3) got trapped leg before wicket three balls later, leaving his side 88-5.
Khushdil Shah then joined Muhammad Haris at the crease. However, the left-hander’s innings was cut short when he was caught in the deep during the 16th over. Mohammad Nawaz (4) fell in the following over, leaving Pakistan at 110-7 after 17 overs.
Shaheen Shah Afridi produced a brisk cameo of 29 not out off 14 balls. His late fireworks lifted Pakistan to a competitive 146-9.
 by 41 runs in Dubai on Wednesday evening to reach the Super-Four stage of the T20I Asia Cup.){kind=link}