Pakistan vs UAE highlights, Asia Cup 2025: Pakistan beat UAE by 41 runs to set-up clash with India on Sunday

Shaheen Afridi to Alishan Sharafu, OUT! BOWLED'EM! It was Shaheen Afridi with the bat to the rescue of Pakistan and it is Shaheen Afridi with the ball now to draw first blood for the Men in Green. Shaheen Afridi goes searching for swing again and bowls a fuller one outside off. Alishan Sharafu backs away a bit and dances down as well, looking to clear the ring of fielders on the off side. Swings away from his body, gets an inside edge and the ball uproots the off pole. Alishan Sharafu departs after scoring 12 (8).

Shaheen Afridi to Muhammad Waseem, Full and wide outside off, Muhammad Waseem jumps down the track, backing away a bit. Pushes this towards extra cover and takes one.

Shaheen Afridi to Muhammad Waseem, WIDE! Back of a length, wide down the leg, Muhammad Waseem goes for the pull but misses The umpire calls it a wide despite an appeal for a caught behind from the Pakistan players.

Shaheen Afridi to Muhammad Waseem, Swing and a miss. Good length, angling away from the batter. Waseem clears his front foot from the pitch of it, plants it pointing towards mid-wicket and swings for the stands but misses out.

Earlier, when it was the UAE, it was all about Muhammad Waseem. But ever since Alishan Sharafu has come into the frame, things have changed. Waseem is naturally aggressive but Sharafu is even more so. He is coming of a quickfire 51 (38) against Oman and to add context, in his previous game against Pakistan, in Sharjah, he clobbered 68 (51). He has to be the main wicket for Pakistan.

Mohammad Nawaz to Alishan Sharafu, Pushed through, full and around off. Alishan Sharafu gets on the front foot and drills it back to Nawaz.

Mohammad Nawaz to Alishan Sharafu, SIX! WOW! An authoritative strike into the stands! Nawaz serves it into the slot, on middle, Alishan Sharafu picks the length nicely, charges down the track and sails it over deep mid-wicket for a massive six. 13 off the over so far!

Mohammad Nawaz to Muhammad Waseem, Full and flat, around off, Waseem backs away to create room and smashes it uppishly, and on the bounce to long off for one.

Mohammad Nawaz to Alishan Sharafu, Floated wide down the leg, Alishan Sharafu gets down on a knee and mistimes the paddle sweep. Gets it away off the scratch towards Abrar Ahmed at short fine leg for a quick single. There is a chance of a run out at the striker's end but Abrar returns a really wide throw to Mohammad Haris, who has to dive to his left to collect, Nawaz is not impressed, asking the youngster to throw at the stumps instead.

Mohammad Nawaz to Muhammad Waseem, Tossed up, around middle and off, Muhammad Waseem gently drops this around point and takes a good single to rotate. This is brilliant from Waseem as a boundary isn't followed by a dot but a strike rotation instead.

Mohammad Nawaz to Muhammad Waseem, FOUR! The spinner has been put under pressure straightaway. Slower one, pitching around off, and turning away from the batter. Muhammad Waseem backs away towards his leg side and cuts this all along the ground past the diving cover-point fielder to his left for four runs.

End of an interesting opening over. Sharafu got things rolling with a boundary, then Afridi bounced back claiming that he has got his man, before things quietened out towards the end. Despite so much action, we just had 6 balls bowled and 6 runs scored! Spin from the other end. It will be Mohammad Nawaz. ​​​No Saim Ayub. Could it be because of the success Simranjeet Singh had?

Shaheen Afridi to Muhammad Waseem, A low full toss, on the stumps, whipped off the inner half of the bat to deep square leg for a single. 6 off the first over. United Arab Emirates need 141 to win off 114 balls.

Shaheen Afridi to Muhammad Waseem, What a gem of a delivery! How has that missed the sticks? This one tails into the batter, on a good length, on middle. Muhammad Waseem plays for the initial line, trying to defend off the front foot, a bit tentatively though. Gets beaten on the inside edge and the ball passes scarily over the middle stump.

Shaheen Afridi to Alishan Sharafu, Spotting Sharafu advancing down the track, Shaheen bowls it wide on off, full in length. Alishan Sharafu adjusts to it well and pushes it to mid off for a quick single.

Shaheen Afridi to Alishan Sharafu, Is that caught behind? Or LBW? Pakistan skipper, Salman Agha, opts against the wish of Shaheen Afridi to send this upstairs. Good length, shaping back into the batter and bounces a wee bit extra. Alishan Sharafu gets beaten on the inside and the ball deflects off his front pad back to Mohammad Haris behind the stumps. Shaheen Afridi doesn't even appeal and jogs to the keeper, anticipating a raised finger from the umpire but he keeps it down. Height would have been a factor for sure.

Shaheen Afridi to Alishan Sharafu, A lot better from Shaheen Afridi as he attacks the stumps this time, a tad short again and on off. Alishan Sharafu pushes this off the inside half of his bat towards cover for a dot.

Shaheen Afridi to Alishan Sharafu, FOUR! We are underway in the chase with a crisp boundary from the bat of Alishan Sharafu. Back of a length around off, searching swing but drops this a tad short. Alishan Sharafu rises up with the bounce and punches this through the gap between point and cover point for four runs.

We are back for the run chase. Ironically, this could turn out to be more exciting than the eagerly anticipated India-Pakistan clash a few days back. Heads are on the line and also, there is a massive opportunity. After coming close in the tri-series, is tonight the night where UAE get the better of Pakistan? Muhammad Waseem and Alishan Sharafu walk out to open for United Arab Emirates. Shaheen Afridi has the new ball in his hand. Alishan Sharafu to face. Here we go!

... THE RUN CHASE ...

Right then, 147 is the magic number for United Arab Emirates to chase. Remember, the winner will qualify for the Super 4s, alongside India and the loser will go back home. Given the struggles the UAE batters have had in chasing targets, the Pakistan bowling unit, restocked with Haris Rauf, will fancy their chances to defend this total. A lot depends on how the in-form batters, Muhammad Waseem and Alishan Sharafu, start off and construct this chase. A very interesting run chase is up on the cards, with everything to play for. Stay tuned.

On the other hand, the UAE bowlers executed their plans with precision for 90 percent of the innings. They used pace variations to great effect, seldom relying on sheer speed and instead taking pace off to disrupt rhythm. But once again, their bigger vulnerability, death bowling, came back to haunt them. They conceded 28 runs in the last 2 overs and lost the momentum toward the end. Simranjeet Singh proved to be a masterstroke change for the UAE as he picked up 3 crucial wickets, whereas Junaid Siddique ended up with brilliant figures, taking a spectacular four-for.

For Pakistan, a recurring concern has been the make up of their batting lineup. Stacked with players chosen for high-intent, power-hitting ability. While this offers explosiveness, it has repeatedly exposed their struggles with the fundamentals of batting, which are rotating strike, finding gaps, and defending under pressure. As a result, when early wickets fall, incoming batters rarely settle, unable to rebuild through singles and doubles and often hesitant to go big straightaway. Partnerships never truly developed, with only two batters from the top 5 in double digits, despite the depth in their batting lineup. Had there been no fireworks from Shaheen Afridi towards the backend, the scoreboard would have read very sorry-looking numbers.

On a grassy surface, the ball was always going to skid and seam, and the UAE pacers made full use. Junaid Siddique struck early with two key wickets, setting the tone as Pakistan’s batters failed to adjust to the pace of the pitch. The top order never found rhythm, and the Powerplay closed with the scoreboard stuck at 39/2, giving UAE the upper hand. The spinners then carried the momentum, keeping things tight through the middle overs. Fakhar Zaman and Salman Agha offered some resistance with a 61-run stand, but runs came slowly and the pressure kept mounting. Salman’s scratchy 20 (27) ended the partnership, leaving Fakhar to shoulder the load. He battled his way to a fifty, much like in the recent Sharjah tri-series, but his dismissal triggered another slide as Pakistan slipped from 70/2 to 93/6 under the stranglehold of spin.

Question. Is it about time for Shaheen Afridi to bat a bit up the order? Because he has displayed some serious hitting skills coming in the backend, which ideally should come from the middle order. Whether he comes up the order or not is the team's lookout, but with a strong finish in the last two overs, Pakistan will feel the momentum is on their side as they head to the sheds. More on Shaheen Afridi, he has been more productive with the bat than with the ball, playing those crucial cameos and helping the team to post at least a defendable total on the board. He did it against India, with a cameo of 33, and tonight, scoring 29 off just 14.

Muhammad Rohid to Shaheen Afridi, OUT! HARIS RAUF IS RUN OUT. Great comeback by Rohid after going for 14 runs in his first 3 balls. Slower ball, on a length, outside off, Afridi backs away and looks to go inside out but ends up carving it over the field. The ball lands safely and the batters just keep on running. There is just the couple of runs available but Rauf is ready to sacrifice his wicket for the team's cause and challenges the throw, as he scampers back for the third. Simranjeet Singh returns a decent throw to the keeper, Rahul Chopra, who collects and hits the ball at the stumps, with Rauf not even in the frame. PAKISTAN FINISH ON 146/9!

Muhammad Rohid to Shaheen Afridi, Very full, on middle, Shaheen Afridi beings out the helicopter again, this time, along the ground, towards long on. Rauf starts to run but then Afridi sends him back. So two consecutive dots.

Muhammad Rohid to Shaheen Afridi, Finally, a dot ball. Wide yorker, outside off, SA reaches out, after backing away way too early and misses to connect.

Muhammad Rohid to Shaheen Afridi, FOUR! 6, 4, 4! This is a dream start to the final over for Pakistan. A slower ball, but short in length, Shaheen pulls it over short fine leg and finds the boundary again!

Muhammad Rohid to Shaheen Afridi, SIX MORE! Jeez - 23 from 10, with 2 fours and 2 sixes! He is really reminding everyone of the way his father-in-law used to play! A full ball again, down the leg side, Afridi brings out the helicopter and this time, it has wings deployed on it. The ball sails over the square leg fence!

Muhammad Rohid to Shaheen Afridi, SIX! CLUBBED! Full, outside off, Shaheen Afridi stays leg side of the ball and swings it cleanly through the line to clear long off!

Who will bowl the final over? How much can Pakistan get? Muhammad Rohid is the answer to the first question. 3-0-18-0 so far. The second question should be answered soon.

Junaid Siddique to Haris Rauf, Another slower ball, outside off, dabbed towards backward point. So Siddique has to adjust with another 4-wicket haul, his 5th in T20Is. 4-0-18-4 for him tonight.

Haris Rauf walks in next, at number 10, replacing Mohammad Haris.

Junaid Siddique to Mohammad Haris, OUT! BOWLED! The slow death! The off cutter, from the back of the hand but Mohammad Haris does not read it at all. He has to wait and wait and wait, but the ball simply does not arrive. Losing his patience, he gets across and attempts a mighty mow via a paddle but is never in sync with the ball. He misses and the ball comes in late and knocks the leg stump out of the ground. 4th wicket for Siddique. Can he get his maiden T20I 5-fer? Haris departs for 18 (14) and from 70/2, Pakistan are now 128/8!

Junaid Siddique to Shaheen Afridi, Change of angle, from over the wicket. The off cutter, on a length, around off, angling away, SA goes for the big hoick but only manages a thick inside edge onto his pads. Takes the single off the deflection. 10 from the over with 2 balls left.

Junaid Siddique to Shaheen Afridi, FOUR! What a shot from a number 9! A grounded helicopter, shall we say? Full, outside off, Shaheen Afridi walks across and whips it through mid-wicket. There are two fielders in the deep, not too far apart at deep mid-wicket and wide long on, but they get bisected perfectly!