ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2026 : Afghanistan beats UAE to keep hopes alive for Super 8

By Vatsal Verma, New Delhi : Openers Ibrahim Zadran and Azmatullah’s superb batting helped Afghanistan beat UAE by 5 wickets. Afghanistan thus opened their T20 World Cup winning streak and kept their hopes alive for the Super 8. Batting first, UAE scored 160 for nine in 20 overs, thanks to a half-century from Sohaib Khan. In reply, Afghanistan won the match by scoring 162 for five in 19.2 overs.

After the match between Afghanistan and UAE, the Group D points table has changed. Afghanistan has moved up to third place with two points from three matches, while UAE has slipped to fourth place with the same number of points from the same number of matches. Afghanistan now faces Canada, and it must win this match at all costs to keep its hopes of reaching the Super Eights alive. Furthermore, New Zealand will also face Canada. If New Zealand wins this match, they will advance to the next round along with South Africa, while Afghanistan’s journey will be over. Chasing the target, Afghanistan lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz (0) on the second ball of the match, caught by Shoaib off Junaid. Zadran targeted Haider Ali in the fourth over, scoring 18 runs with three fours and a six. Gulbadin Naib (13) also hit a six and a four off Mohammad Jawadullah, but in the next over, he was caught by Harshik Kaushik at point off Mohammad Arfan.

Afghanistan scored 41 for two in the powerplay. Sediqullah Atal (16) reached his half-century in the eighth over with a four off Arfan and then hit a six off Simranjeet Singh in the next over, but Jawadullah dismissed him with a yorker. Zadran reached his half-century in 37 balls with a four and then two runs off Simranjit, but was then caught by UAE captain Mohammad Wasim off Arfan. Zadran was dismissed for 53 runs off 41 balls, hitting six fours and a six.

Omarzai held the fort until the end…..
Afghanistan’s century came up in the 14th over. Afghanistan needed 52 runs to win in the final five overs. Azmatullah hit a six off Simranjit, while Darwish hit a six off Arfan to close the gap between runs and balls. Azmatullah also hit a six off Junaid in the next over, but Darwish was bowled. He hit three fours and a six in his 23-ball innings. Afghanistan needed 17 runs off the final two overs, and Azmatullah sealed the victory with a six and a four off Jawadullah.
Rashid completes 700 T20 wickets………….
Earlier, Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan won the toss and elected to bowl first. For the UAE, Sohaib Khan scored 68 runs off 48 balls, hitting six fours and four sixes, setting a challenging target for Afghanistan. Alishan Sharafu, along with Sohaib, also scored 40 runs off 31 balls, hitting three fours and two sixes. For Afghanistan, Omarzai took four wickets, while Mujeeb Ur Rahman took one and Rashid Khan took one. With this, Rashid completed 700 wickets in T20.