Five wickets for four runs. Seventeen balls. That sudden collapse told the story of a game that swung from tense to done in a flash. Pakistan beat Afghanistan by 39 runs in Sharjah to open the UAE T20I Tri-Series with a statement win built on a captain’s rescue act and a ruthless burst of pace bowling.
Pakistan recover from wobble to post 182/7
Pakistan chose to bat and flew out of the blocks, but the early sparkle didn’t last. From a fast start to 83/4, the innings turned edgy. That’s when captain Salman Ali Agha did the thing leaders are paid to do—slow the chaos, build a platform, and keep the scoreboard moving without taking wild risks. His half-century steadied the room and changed the mood.
He didn’t do it alone. Mohammad Nawaz partnered him in a 50-run stand that took the sting out of Afghanistan’s middle-overs squeeze. The pair rotated strike, put the bad ball away, and made sure Pakistan reached the death overs with wickets in hand. It wasn’t flashy; it was smart. It gave Pakistan the right to aim higher at the back end.
Faheem Ashraf then threw a short, sharp punch at the finish—14 off 5, with a six and a four—before a run-out off the final ball. That cameo mattered. It pushed Pakistan to 182/7, a total that felt solid rather than spectacular, but plenty at Sharjah once the ball got a little older and the fielders had something to defend.
The shape of Pakistan’s innings was familiar in T20 terms: a quick powerplay, a stutter when spin and smart pace changes arrived, then a controlled rebuild. The difference between 165 and 180 usually lies in one partnership that holds up when the pressure bites. Salman found it with Nawaz. That partnership re-set the run chase Afghanistan would have to pull off.
Conditions in Sharjah offered what they often do—shorter boundaries square, a rapid outfield, and a pitch that rewards timing early but can grip a touch later. Pakistan read that pretty well. After the early flurry, they stopped chasing 200 and focused on a platform instead. By the time the death overs came, Afghanistan’s bowlers were juggling fields and plans, and Pakistan had the base to swing.
What stood out about Salman’s knock was the judgment. He picked his matchups, took singles off good balls, and punished anything loose. In a phase when dot-ball pressure could have forced a mistake, he refused to blink. That calm is what earned him Player of the Match—and it gave Pakistan’s quicks the runway they needed.
Afghanistan’s chase unravels in 17-ball collapse
Afghanistan’s openers came out with intent. They took on Pakistan’s pace, especially early, and at 92/2 the chase looked well set. The required rate was manageable, the batting order had depth, and Pakistan were searching for a breakthrough that would slow things down. Then came the shock.
In a burst that will live long in the dressing rooms, Afghanistan went from 92/2 to 97/7. Five wickets. Four runs. Seventeen balls. The oxygen left the chase. Haris Rauf led the demolition with pace and accuracy, stripping away both set batters and momentum. Sufiyan Muqeem backed him up, nailing his lengths and breaking stands just when Afghanistan needed calm.
Those middle-overs are where T20 games often flip. It’s not just wickets; it’s the timing of those wickets. When one falls, batters can still go hard. When they fall in clusters, everyone gets tentative. Rotations stall. Strikers get stranded. Pakistan’s seamers and spinners exploited that perfectly—hitting the hard length, getting the ball to climb, then following it up with slower ones into the pitch. The result was panic.
Rashid Khan showed why he is box-office in any format. He clubbed 39 off 16, with one four and five sixes, and briefly reset the conversation. A couple more overs of that and we’re talking about a heist. But it was too much left for too late. With the run rate spiking and partners running out, even Rashid’s surge couldn’t undo the damage from the collapse.
Afghanistan ended with a harsh stat-line: the last eight wickets cost them only 50 runs. That was the gulf. The top order gave them a chance; the middle lost shape; the lower order tried to swing them back into it. Pakistan stayed relentless through the phases, and that discipline—more than one magic over—closed the game.
Haris Rauf’s four wickets were the headline, and deservedly so. Pace at the chest, yorkers when needed, and the courage to follow a wicket ball with another attacking ball—that’s how you shut doors in T20. Sufiyan Muqeem’s two strikes were timely, not just tidy. Pakistan’s senior spearhead Shaheen Afridi set a tone up front, and even when he didn’t run through the top, he forced errors with pressure from one end, letting the others cash in.
Afghanistan will look at decision-making in that 17-ball window. Could someone have absorbed 10 deliveries, knocked singles, and carried the innings to the 16th over? Could they have found a way to target a fifth bowler or pick on a shorter boundary? That’s the balance they’ll chase in the next outing: keep the intent, cut the chaos.
For Pakistan, the win answers a key question that follows them in T20 cricket: can the middle order rebuild and still finish strong? Here, yes. Salman and Nawaz absorbed pressure without dragging the innings to a crawl, and Faheem’s burst showed that if the platform holds, the tail can still add value.
It also underlined another trait: bowling depth. When Rauf is hot and the left-arm angle from Muqeem or a similar variety hits the right length, Pakistan aren’t reliant on one plan. They can attack with pace, vary into the pitch, or lean on matchups. That’s the kind of flexibility that wins tight evenings at Sharjah.
There’s also the context of a tri-series. Openers matter. You don’t just bag points; you shape the week. Pakistan now get to manage workloads, test combinations, and avoid chasing the table. Afghanistan, on the other hand, will want a quick reset—this wasn’t a blowout from ball one. They were in it until they weren’t, which is both frustrating and fixable.
Fielding often decides razor-edge contests, and Pakistan saved runs in the ring when the game was on the line. The urgency after the second wicket of the chase was visible—sharp angles, accurate throws, no freebies. If you’re defending 180 at Sharjah, singles turned into dots are gold.
Afghanistan’s bowling had its moments too. The middle-overs squeeze that pushed Pakistan from flourish to rebuild was well set up with tight lines and a packed off-side field. But they will review the death overs—missed yorkers, a couple of short balls that sat up, and the inability to deny those late boundaries. Against better finishing sides, that phase becomes the difference between 165 and 185.
As for selection notes, Pakistan got key minutes into the players who matter for crunch phases: Salman at three or four doing the anchor job, Nawaz as the flex in the middle, and Rauf handling the high-pressure overs. Afghanistan will be weighing the same: who is their ice-man in a wobble? Which batter owns the 12th to 16th over when two wickets fall quickly?
This rivalry has grown beyond neighborly needle; it now has its own rhythm—tight bowling spells, fearless hitting, and momentum swings that feel inevitable. Sharjah has hosted some of the best of these chapters. This one added a fresh twist: a match flipped in under three overs, with a healing captain’s knock at the other end of the narrative.
Key moments that shaped the game:
- Pakistan from 83/4 to a competitive 182/7—Salman Ali Agha and Mohammad Nawaz’s 50-run stand was the pivot.
- Faheem Ashraf’s 14 off 5 at the death—small cameo, big swing in target pressure.
- Afghanistan cruising at 92/2—then five wickets for four runs in 17 balls broke the chase.
- Haris Rauf’s four wickets and Sufiyan Muqeem’s two—pace and variety in the same squeeze.
- Rashid Khan’s 39 off 16—late fireworks that showed fight but arrived after the damage.
For analysts and coaches, the tape will show how Pakistan shut down scoring areas after the 10th over. They denied the straight boundary, bowled into the pitch, and made Afghanistan hit to the longer side. The field and plans matched the bowling. That cohesion is often the hidden edge.
Afghanistan’s positives remain clear. The top-order intent was right for Sharjah. The bowling unit found control after the powerplay. And in Rashid, they always have a finisher who can force panic. If they can stretch their calm through one bad over and avoid losing in clusters, they’ll turn a chase like this around quickly.
For fans, this was classic Pakistan vs Afghanistan T20 cricket: tense, loud, and decided in a blink. A tidy total, a bold chase, a sudden collapse, and a late surge that kept you watching till the last wicket. The tri-series has its tone now—Pakistan with the early lead, Afghanistan with a point to prove, and more tests around the corner.
Match snapshot at a glance:
- Pakistan 182/7 in 20 overs; from 83/4 to a strong finish.
- Salman Ali Agha: a composed half-century; Player of the Match.
- Partnership of 50 with Mohammad Nawaz—held the innings together.
- Faheem Ashraf: 14 off 5 at the death; run-out on the final ball.
- Afghanistan 92/2 before sliding to 97/7—five wickets for four runs in 17 balls.
- Haris Rauf: four wickets; Sufiyan Muqeem: two wickets in the decisive phase.
- Rashid Khan: 39 off 16 (1 four, 5 sixes)—late charge, not enough.
- Pakistan won by 39 runs to start the UAE T20I Tri-Series 2025.
Next up, the series tempo picks up. Pakistan will want to lock in roles and rhythm. Afghanistan will want to bottle the start of their chase and the bravery of Rashid, then build a bridge over that 17-ball gap. Fix that, and this series tightens fast.
