Afghanistan overcame a valiant UAE to register their first win of the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, keeping their Super 8 hopes afloat. An all-round show from Azmatullah Omarzai buttressed the victory, with the 25-year-old returning a highly impressive 4/15 to restrict UAE to 160 for 9 before smashing an unbeaten 40 off 21 to take Afghanistan home in the final over.
The victorious skipper of Afghanistan – Rashid Khan – says that he is happy to win and get two points on the board. Adds that they were all over the place in the first 10 overs and it was a good effort overall to restrict the opposition to 160. Feels that the bowling performance is something they need to improve, as it happened against New Zealand and South Africa as well.
On Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rashid feels that he plays aggressively in the Powerplay and sometimes it doesn’t come off but also feels that someone like Gurbaz, who is in form, needs to hang around for a bit more. On Mohammad Nabi not bowling today, Rashid says that he is the senior-most member of the side and his experience is crucial but the way Mujeeb bowled, they stuck with him for this game. Ends by saying that they would love to get to the next stage of the competition but want to put their best foot forward and get the win in their final group game.
Brief Scores: UAE 160/9 in 20 overs (Sohaib Khan 68, Alishan Sharafu 40; Azmatullah Omarzai 4-15) lost to Afghanistan 162/5 in 19.2 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 53, Azmatullah Omarzai 40*; Junaid Siddique 2-23) by 5 wickets.