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SHARJAH: Fakhar Zaman’s unbeaten knock, followed by Abrar Ahmed’s outstanding spell, powered Pakistan into the final of the T20I tri-series here at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
In pursuit of a 172-run target, UAE fell short by 31 runs and could only muster 140-7 in their 20 overs.
UAE were off to a steady start with a 41-run partnership, but not until Abrar Ahmed removed Muhammad Waseem on the first ball of the seventh over. He was caught after scoring a run, a ball 19 with the aid of a boundary and a six.
Despite the wicket, UAE batted steadily, reaching the 70-run mark in the 10 overs. However, Ethan D’Souza’s wicket gave Pakistan an opening. D’Souza made nine from 14 balls.
Meanwhile, Alishan Sharafu, playing his first game, continued to bat sensibly with wickets falling around him. In the 13th over, Abrar Ahmed struck twice, first removing dangerous Asif Khan (7) and then Rahul Chopra (0) to put Pakistan on top.
UAE continued to lose wickets amid a creeping required run rate, with Sharafu playing a lone hand. He eventually departed after making 68 from 51 balls, striking four boundaries and four maximums.
As a result, UAE fell short of the target by a similar number of runs —31 in their first fixture of the tri-series against Pakistan.
For Pakistan, Abrar Ahmed starred with the ball, picking up four wickets for just nine runs in his quota of four overs. Mohammad Nawaz and Shaheen Afridi supported him well with one wicket each.
Earlier, Fakhar Zaman’s composed half-century and Mohammad Nawaz’s cameo took Pakistan to a strong total against UAE.
After opting to bat, Pakistan chalked up 171-5 in their allocated 20 overs.
After racking up 28 runs in only 2.4 overs, Sahibzada Farhan was caught at mid-wicket — a similar pattern of his dismissal to the previous two matches. The right-hander struck a six before getting out after scoring 16 off 11 balls.
Two overs later, Saim Ayub was caught behind in an attempt to play a cover drive. Ayub made 11 off 10 with the help of a six. As a result, Pakistan was reduced to 35-2.
The situation worsened for Pakistan with Salman Ali Agha’s (7) departure on the stroke of the powerplay. Meanwhile, Fakhar Zaman remained firm at one end with wickets tumbling.
In came promoted Mohammad Haris, who put on a brief stand of 24 runs with Zaman before getting trapped lbw, which left Pakistan reeling on 74-4 at the halfway mark of the innings.
Haris hit a four and a six in his sluggish knock off 14 from 17 balls.
At one stage, the 150-run mark looked ominous for Pakistan; yet the visitors crossed it due to UAE’s sloppy fielding, which gave Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Nawaz second chances.
The duo’s unbeaten 91* run partnership, with 42 runs coming off the last two overs, took Pakistan to a strong total.
For UAE, Haider Ali remained the pick of the bowlers, picking up two wickets in his four overs while giving away just 17 runs.
READ: Tanvir Ahmed questions Rizwan’s exclusion amid Haris’ struggles
