Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Nawaz stitched a 91-run stand for the sixth wicket.
The statement ‘numbers don’t lie’ is true in itself. But numbers are nothing without context either. The fact that Pakistan got to 171/5 against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) spills no surprises. But for any spectator who watched the first innings unfold, the batting display from Pakistan would not be very pleasing. Little did they know, that Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz and Abrar Ahmed were going to turn it around for the Shaheens.
After winning the toss, skipper Salman Agha opted to bat first. But the Men in Green were soon pushed in a situation from where they doubted their own decisions. Their openers did not have the best of forms as both Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub were dismissed cheaply. And the story did not end there.
The Shaheens were reduced to 74/4 in the first half of the first innings. None of the top six batters showed any promise and were all sent back cheaply. Fakhar Zaman, who came out at No.3 was the only batter who managed to score a sturdy 77, which helped Pakistan to a respectable total. In the end, the Men in Green emerged victorious, registering a 31-run win over the hosts.
From being 74/4 at the halfway mark, the Men in Green continued their disappointing approach till the very end. But just as the innings were about to close, Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Nawaz happened. The duo got together to stitch a 91-run partnership because of which the visitors were able to get past the 170-run mark. Batting at No.7, Nawaz dug out 37 runs at an impressive strike rate of 137.03.
But that was not all. The Pakistanis were 129/5 at the end of the 18th over. From there, both Zaman and Nawaz put their foot on the accelerator and raced away with the score. To put that in perspective, the duo piled up 42 runs in the last two overs, completely shifting the momentum towards Pakistan. Taking the score to respectable total, they gave their bowlers something to bowl at.
In moments of adversity, a team will always look up to its captain. But for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 finalists, there might be an issue on that front. Skipper Salman Agha has not been amongst the runs on a consistent basis, and that might come back to bite them.
Against the UAE, he was dismissed for a mere seven runs to a delivery from Muhammad Rohid. The ball pitched short, and moved slightly away from Agha who had no answer.
In the last 13 T20Is, the Pakistan skipper has registered just two fifties. To add to those dismal numbers, he has gone past the 30-run mark on just three occasions in those 13 appearences. For a batter who will take up the No.4 spot in an all-important Asia Cup, these numbers seldom do justice. Agha will have to make sure that he leads from the front for Pakistan to have a chance in the tournament.
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The UAE openers started off the proceedings quite normally. Opener Alishan Sharafu scored a gritty half-century, but it wasn’t enough for the hosts to get anywhere near to the target. It was all fine until the 12-over mark, when the hosts had just lost two wickets with the score around 80.
The destructor-in-chief? Abrar Ahmed! The leg-spinner ran through the UAE middle-order in a matter of 24 deliveries. Ahmed ended his four-over spell with figures of 4/9, his career-best in the shortest format of the game. As a result, he ended up derailing the UAE batters’ plans towards chasing the Pakistani total.
Conceding a single-digit total in the shortest format of the game speaks high volumes of the bowler’s ability. Abrar Ahmed and Pakistan will be highly pleased with that performance. On the back of their comprehensive victory, the Shaheens will keep their spot at the top of the points table, having lost just a solitary game to Afghanistan earlier in the tournament.
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