Afghanistan vs UAE Highlights, T20 World Cup 2026: Afghanistan beat UAE by 5 wickets to clinch first win

Ziaur Rahman to Junaid Siddique, In the blockhole, on middle, Junaid Siddique jams it out to deep mid-wicket for a couple of runs.

The next batter is Junaid Siddique.

Ziaur Rahman to Haider Ali, OUT! HAIDER ALI IS RUN OUT! After coming close on a few occasions, Afghanistan have finally managed to get a run out. Ziaur Rahman bowls a good yorker, on middle and leg, angling in. Haider Ali backs away to dig it out but misses as it goes between his legs to the keeper. He sets off for the run but is sent back. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the keeper, rolls it with an underarm throw and hits the stumps at the striker's end with Ali short of his crease. United Arab Emirates are 157/8 now.

Ziaur Rahman to Haider Ali, WIDE! Back of a length but way down the leg side, slower too, Haider Ali leaves it alone. Another wide.

Ziaur Rahman to Simranjeet Singh, A full toss, on middle, Simranjeet Singh drills it towards short extra cover for another run. The fielder throws it at the batter's end but misses the stumps.

Ziaur Rahman to Haider Ali, Gets the yorker in, on middle, Haider Ali jams it out onto his foot as the ball drops to the off side. They cross.

Ziaur Rahman to Simranjeet Singh, Slower one, on a length and on off, Simranjeet Singh steers it towards point for a single.

Ziaur Rahman or Gulbadin Naib for the final over of the innings? It will be the former, 3 overs for 36 runs so far for Zia.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Haider Ali, Play and a miss! Fuller delivery, around off, angling away. Haider Ali takes a couple of steps forward to push it away but misses. Azmatullah Omarzai finishes an incredible spell of bowling with figures of 4-0-15-4.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Simranjeet Singh, Run out chance...missed! A low full toss, on off, Simranjeet Singh jams it out towards extra cover and sets off for the run. Rashid Khan picks up, takes aim but misses his shy at the bowler's end. Singh did not drag his bat in and was well short of his crease.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Simranjeet Singh, Hard length and on middle, Simranjeet Singh pats it back to the bowler.

The next batter is in. It is Simranjeet Singh at number 9.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Sohaib Khan, OUT! CAUGHT! Azmatullah Omarzai gets his fourth and this is a big one as well. He bangs this into the pitch, on middle, takes pace off. Sohaib Khan hops up and looks to swat it across the line, but fails to ride the bounce. It takes the top edge and lobs straight into the hands of Mujeeb Ur Rahman at square leg. Khan walks back after a fine knock of 68 off 48 balls. 

Azmatullah Omarzai to Sohaib Khan, FOUR! Connects this time! Just misses the wide yorker, pitches it up, outside off. Sohaib Khan reaches out and squeezes it away through backward point. The fielder from sweeper cover runs to his left and dives but only manages to parry it over the fence for a boundary. That brings up the 150 for the UAE.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Sohaib Khan, Swing and a miss! Back of a length and outside off, there to be hit. Sohaib Khan throws his hands at it but fails to connect.

Oh, a bit of impetus for the UAE heading into the final couple of overs. 170 is certainly still on, which, if achieved, will be a defendable total for sure. For now, Azmatullah Omarzai is back into the attack.

Ziaur Rahman to Haider Ali, FOUR! The extra ball costs Ziaur Rahman here! Short of a length and around off. Haider Ali backs away and slashes hard at it. Gets an outside edge that flies over short third for a boundary. 18 runs off the over.

Ziaur Rahman to Haider Ali, WIDE! Fuller but down the leg side, Haider Ali lets it go. Called a wide.

Ziaur Rahman to Haider Ali, FOUR! Gets it away! Overpitched delivery and around off. Haider Ali gets his hands through the shot and slams it past mid off for a boundary.

Ziaur Rahman to Sohaib Khan, Really sloppy from the bowler. Pitched up and on off, Sohaib Khan drills it towards extra cover for a single. Mohammad Nabi collects the ball and just rolls it towards the bowler, but Ziaur Rahman is not aware of that. The batters take this opportunity to get an extra run. However, Rashid Khan is not happy and the umpire rules out the extra run, deeming the ball as dead once the first run was completed.

Ziaur Rahman to Sohaib Khan, SIX! Into the stands! Ziaur Rahman bangs this into the surface, takes pace off again but this time it sits up nicely for the batter. Sohaib Khan waits for it, swivels and whacks it over the deep square leg fence for half a dozen more.

Ziaur Rahman to Haider Ali, Goes fuller and on leg, pace on this time. Haider Ali backs away to play at it but gets an inside edge towards deep fine leg for a run.

Ziaur Rahman to Sohaib Khan, Back of length, on middle, takes all the pace off, Sohaib Khan pulls it to deep square leg for a single.

Ziaur Rahman (2-0-18-0) is back on, replacing Rashid Khan.

Gulbadin Naib to Sohaib Khan, Hard length and on middle, Sohaib Khan pats it down to long on for one more.

Gulbadin Naib to Haider Ali, On a length and on leg, Haider Ali clips it through square leg for another run.

Gulbadin Naib to Haider Ali, Pitched up and around off, Haider Ali drives it wide of sweeper cover and comes back for the second run.

Gulbadin Naib to Sohaib Khan, Fuller and on off, Sohaib Khan pushes it through covers for a run.

It seems like Gulbadin Naib has forced Rashid Khan to take a review for LBW here. Seemed a bit too straight to begin with but the third umpire is called into action now. No need for UltraEdge as it has clearly missed the bat. Ball Tracking shows that it is closer than one thought initially, as it is 'umpire's call' as far as hitting the stumps is concerned. NOT OUT!

Gulbadin Naib to Haider Ali, Shout for LBW, but turned down! However, Rashid Khan takes the review here. Gulbadin Naib lands this on a good length and on middle, angling in. Haider Ali looks to flick it away but misses and gets hit on the pads as the ball rolls towards square leg. A leg bye is taken. UltraEdge confirms no bat involved and Ball Tracking shows it is just clipping the leg stump on umpire's call. Not Out, but the Afghans keep the review.

Gulbadin Naib to Sohaib Khan, A full toss and outside off, Sohaib Khan reaches out and slaps it towards sweeper cover for a single.

Gulbadin Naib to Sohaib Khan, WIDE! Again full, but way outside off, Sohaib Khan lets it go. Free Hit continues.

Gulbadin Naib to Sohaib Khan, Tries the wide yorker from around the stumps, but serves this way, way outside off, Sohaib Khan leaves it alone. It is called a wide. However, the siren goes off and it means Naib has overstepped here. The call is changed from a wide to a No Ball. Free Hit to follow.

Gulbadin Naib comes into the attack in the 17th over of the innings.

Rashid Khan to Haider Ali, Ripper! A wrong 'un, full and around off, turns away sharply from the left-hander. Haider Ali gets bamboozled by it as the ball zips past the outside edge. 4-0-24-1, another fine outing for Rashid.

Rashid Khan to Haider Ali, Slows it up, full and on off, Haider Ali fends it to the off side.

Rashid Khan to Haider Ali, Flighted, full and on middle, Haider Ali blocks it down the pitch.

Not the first time we have seen a batter getting hit-wicket in this edition's T20 World Cup. Zane Green of Namibia suffered the same fate against India a few days back. Anyway, Haider Ali walks out to bat at number 8.

Rashid Khan to Muhammad Arfan, OUT! HIT WICKET! Rashid Khan gets into the act now and gets his 700th wicket in all T20 competitions. He bowls this flatter, full and around middle. Muhammad Arfan changes his stance early and plays the reverse sweep. He connects well, but cannot control the swing of his bat and it clatters into the stumps on the follow-through. A very unusual way to get out but Rashid won't mind it. United Arab Emirates have slipped from 114/3 to 121/6.

Rashid Khan to Sohaib Khan, Shorter in length and on middle, Sohaib Khan nudges it through mid-wicket for a single.

Rashid Khan to Sohaib Khan, SIX! Back-to-back fifties for Sohaib Khan! Tossed up, full and on middle, Khan gets his front leg out of the way and tonks it over the bowler's head for a biggie. This has been a fine knock from him and he will look to finish well here.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Muhammad Arfan, Good length at the stumps, Arfan blocks it off. What an over, top stuff from Azmatullah Omarzai and his double strike has almost taken the wind out of UAE sails. 

United Arab Emirates lose half their side now. That brings Muhammad Arfan out to the middle.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Harshit Kaushik, OUT! EDGED AND GONE! A double-whammy for Azmatullah Omarzai in the 15th over and UAE are throwing away a fine start. This is bowled full and outside off, just seams away a touch. Harshit Kaushik leans across to drive it square but gets an outside edge on it. Rahmanullah Gurbaz moves swiftly to his left and gobbles it up but the batter reviews it. There seems to be a certain edge but did the bat just hit the turf and miss the ball? Harshit Kaushik feels so but UltraEdge quickly confirms that the ball came straight off the edge and the bat jammed into the turf later. 97/2 has now become 114/5.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Harshit Kaushik, Hard length outside off, slants back in. Kaushik has a tentative push at it again and is beaten again. 

Azmatullah Omarzai to Harshit Kaushik, Immaculate length again from Omarzai. Around the wicket to the left-hander, bowls it slightly short of a good length and angles it in. Harshit Kaushik has a poke at it but the ball straightens and beats the bat.

Drinks break brings in a wicket for Afghanistan. Harshit Kaushik walks out to bat now.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Syed Haider, OUT! TIMBER! Azmatullah Omarzai strikes on his return, just like Mujeeb did early on and Afghanistan are really pulling things back nicely here. Omarzai hammers it on a good length and attacks the top of off. Syed Haider is caught back on the crease and gets a bit squared up as the ball straightens off the deck. The ball beats the outside edge and clips the top of the stumps as Azmat gets his second wicket.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Sohaib Khan, Back of a length, hitting the deck hard and angling it into the batter. Khan tucks it off the hips and in front of square on the leg side for a single.

DRINKS! United Arab Emirates have done well to score at a good rate despite losing that wicket of Alishan Sharafu. They have not let the Afghan spinners settle and targeted Noor Ahmad to keep the pressure on him. Now, with Sohaib Khan well set and still plenty of batting to come, they have a great platform to get to a big total here. Afghanistan have been a bit inconsistent and will be looking for wickets to gain momentum back in the next few overs and then finish well. Also, Azmatullah Omarzai is to bowl after the break.