New Delhi, Feb 16 (SocialNews.XYZ) Azmatullah Omarzai’s incisive spell of 4-15 and an unbeaten cameo of 40 off 21 balls powered Afghanistan to their first win of the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup through a five-wicket victory over the UAE at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday.
On a pitch which had a bit of moisture, Omarzai varied his line and length cleverly to dismantle the lower half of the UAE’s batting card, while Mujeeb Ur Rahman chipped in with two wickets and Rashid Khan bowled a tidy spell to keep the UAE to 160/9.
After early setbacks, UAE’s innings was steadied by a fluent third‑wicket stand of 84 runs between Alishan Sharafu (40) and Sohaib Khan (68). The duo countered spin with measured aggression and gave the innings a sense of momentum.
Sohaib’s 68, his second successive fifty at this venue, came off 47 balls, laced with five fours and two sixes. His effort ensured that the UAE touched 160 despite four wickets falling in the last five overs.
In reply, opener Ibrahim Zadran hit a composed 53 off 41 balls, while Omarzai’s cameo at the end ensured the chase was completed with four balls to spare, even as UAE’s bowlers fought hard to keep the contest alive. The result also means Afghanistan have kept their slim hopes of reaching the Super Eights alive.
Zadran steadied the innings through a fluent knock laced with five fours and a six, but his dismissal reopened the door for UAE. It was left to Omarzai to finish the job and he did it by hitting two fours and three sixes to seal Afghanistan’s first points of the tournament.
For UAE, Muhammad Arfan’s disciplined spell brought two wickets and kept the chase tense, but the batting collapse in the middle overs left them short of a truly competitive total. Their 160 was par at best, and Afghanistan’s batting depth proved to be decisive. The result also confirmed South Africa’s qualification for the Super Eights, where India and West Indies previously confirmed their spots.
Aryansh Sharma endured a nervy start, surviving a caught‑behind appeal off the very first ball off Omarzai, as replays showed the edge just about failed to carry behind to Rahmanullah Gurbaz. After a prolonged review, he was ruled not out. But the reprieve proved to be short‑lived.
On the fourth delivery, a near‑identical sequence unfolded - the ball brushing past the bat, fielders going up in unison, and the third umpire confirming the dismissal after a DRS check. Muhammad Waseem looked fluent from the outset - a powerful push past mid‑on was followed by a slog sweep that pierced square leg after a misfield, bringing successive boundaries.
But his promising start was cut short as he was trapped lbw by Mujeeb Ur Rahman, with replays showing the ball clipping the top of off‑stump. UAE’s innings gathered momentum through the fourth and fifth overs, with Sohaib and Sharafu counter‑attacking to lift the run rate.
Sharafu, meanwhile, found his rhythm against Mujeeb Ur Rahman, lofting straight over the bowler’s head and sweeping with authority. The pair combined to take 28 runs off successive overs, pushing UAE to 55/2 at the end of the power-play.
Mujeeb and Rashid operated with a slip in place, probing for the edge, yet bowling fuller lengths occasionally allowed the batters to get their runs. Sohaib, in particular, punished Noor Ahmad with back to back boundaries and a six, while he and Rashid Khan were taken for a maximum each by Sharafu.
Despite Sharafu’s dismissal to Mujeeb - a mistimed loft to long‑off - breaking a promising 84-run partnership, Sohaib continued to rotate strike, while Syed Haider announced himself with a crisp sweep off Rashid for four and a towering six against Noor.
Though Sohaib got his fifty with a lofted six over Rashid’s head, he lost support from the other end as Omarzai squared up Syed Haider and took out top of off-stump while Harshit Kaushik edged behind for a three-ball duck and Muhammad Arfan was out hit wicket off Rashid, who got his 700th T20 wicket.
Sohaib and Haider Ali shifted gears to provide the UAE with a good finishing flourish through a flurry of strokes against Rahman. While Sohaib swivelled across to dispatch a short delivery over long leg for six, Haider opened the bat face late to glide a short ball past the keeper and then unfurled a crisp drive through cover to get a brace of fours, as 18 runs came off the 18th over.
After Sohaib sliced through the gap at point, he looked to pull a short ball from Omarzai, but the top-edge was snapped by the fielder in the deep. Haider and Junaid Siddique were run out in the final over, as 46 runs came in the last five overs.
Afghanistan’s reply began with a huge blow as Rahmanullah Gurbaz attempted to loft over cover off Junaid Siddique but sliced tamely to point and fall for a two-ball duck. While Siddique and Haider Ali continued to ask questions via movement and bounce, Ibrahim Zadran broke free by lifting a half-volley from Siddique over the bowler’s head for his first boundary.
The innings found momentum in the fourth over when Zadran unfurled a cut, sweep over and lofted drive down the ground to pick three boundaries in quick succession off Ali. Gulbadin Naib joined in the fun by clubbing Jawadullah over long-on for a towering maximum before slamming a cover drive for four.
Yet, just as Afghanistan seemed to settle, Muhammad Arfan struck as Gulbadin offered a simple catch to point, departing for 13. While Zadran continued to anchor by taking singles and hitting an occasional boundary, Sediqullah Atal began by clipping Arfan for four, before smacking Simranjeet Singh over long-on for six.
But Jawadullah produced an absolute jaffa – getting the yorker to come in and sneak past Atal’s bat to floor the off-stump. Zadran continued to be pristine – going on backfoot to pull Simranjeet for four, before reaching his fifty in 37 balls with a brace through mid-wicket.
UAE’s move to bring back Arfan worked wonders when Zadran looked to pull a slower ball, but top-edged to mid-wicket running in from the deep region. With 61 runs needed off 36 balls, Afghanistan found timely boundaries to keep their chase alive. Darwish Rasooli eased some pressure by flicking Jawadullah for four, before Omarzai lofted Simranjeet over long-off for six.
Rasooli then lofted Arfan straight down the ground for a towering six before going past the diving fielder through an on-drive, fetching him a four. Omarzai greeted a returning Siddique with a clean swing over long-off for six, but UAE struck a decisive blow when the pacer left Rasooli’s stumps in a mess with a full and straight ball.
Omarzai broke free from Jawadullah’s slower balls by smacking him over deep extra cover for six before tickling through fine leg for four. Omarzai fittingly finished off the chase in style with a lofted drive over cover to get Afghanistan their first win of the competition.
Brief Scores: UAE 160/9 in 20 overs (Sohaib Khan 68, Alishan Sharafu 40; Azmatullah Omarzai 4-15, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2-31) lost to Afghanistan 162/5 in 19.2 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 53, Azmatullah Omarzai 40 not out; Junaid Siddique 2-23, Muhammad Arfan 2-30) by five wickets
Source: IANS
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