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DUBAI: Mohammad Haris’ sparkling half-century and an all-round bowling performance powered Pakistan to a massive win against Oman in the fourth fixture of the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025 here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday.
Set 161-run target, Oman faltered in the chase and were eventually bowled for a modest 67 runs in 16.4 overs.
Oman had a similar start to Pakistan as they lost their opener Jatinder Singh in the second over. Saim Ayub castled Jatinder for a single run.
After an early wicket, Hammad Mirza and Aamir Kaleem tried to stabilize Oman in the chase with a brief stand of 22 off 12 balls.
However, Amir departed after making 13 from 11 balls. As a result, Oman were reduced to 24-2 in 3.1 overs. Their chase was further dented with double blows in the seventh over and eighth over.
Pakistan continued to strike at regular intervals with no significant contribution from Oman’s middle order. Eventually, the whole team was bundled out for a modest score, resulting in a massive 93-run for Pakistan.
For Pakistan, Sufiyan Muqeem, Faheem Ashraf, and Saim Ayub picked up two wickets each.
Earlier, Mohammad Haris’ 63 off 43 balls helped Pakistan post a 160-run total.
Pakistan could not capitalize on the decision to bat first as their opener Saim Ayub fell for a golden duck in the opening over.
After an early blow, Mohammad Haris paired with Sahibzada Farhan to steady Pakistan’s innings. The duo stitched an 85-run partnership from 64 balls, which eventually lifted them out of trouble.
The stand culminated with Farhan’s wicket– 29 off 29 balls, as the scorecard read 89-2 in 10.6 overs. Meanwhile, Haris accelerated and notched his half-century on 32 balls.
However, Oman roared back with back-to-back scalps on the last two balls of the 12th over. Haris was the first to go, whereas Salman Ali Agha followed him after in a bid to dispatch a full toss, eventually getting caught at deep square leg.
Haris ‘ innings was laced with three towering sixes and seven fours.
The wicket sparked a mini collapse, which prevented Pakistan from going big in the latter half of the innings. With contributions from Mohammad Nawaz and Fakhar, Pakistan reached a decent total at the end of their allocated 20 overs.
Nawaz scored a vital cameo off 19 from 10 balls, whereas Fakhar Zaman scored 23* off 16 with the help of two fours.
For Oman, Aamir Kaleem and Shah Faisal picked up three wickets.
Playing XIs
Pakistan XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Ali Agha (capt), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed
Oman XI: Aamir Kaleem, Jatinder Singh (capt), Hammad Mirza, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Hassnain Shah, Shah Faisal, Mohammad Nadeem, Zikria Islam, Sufyan Mehmood, Shakeel Ahmed, Samay Shrivastava
READ: Fakhar Zaman hails Saim Ayub as ‘updated version’ of Babar Azam
