Delhi: Afghanistan beat UAE by five wickets to register their first win in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday.
Chasing a target of 161, Afghanistan lost the game when Junaid Siddiqui was dismissed by Rahmanullah Gurbaz on the second ball of the opening over.
Ibrahim Sadran and Gulbadin Naib revived the innings with a steady partnership for the second wicket.
However, Afghanistan were 40-2 in 5.3 overs when Gulbad’s 12-ball 13 with a four and a six was dismissed by Muhammad Arfan.
Sethiqullah Atal scored 16 off 14 balls and was dismissed by Mohammed Javadullah. Opener Ibrahim Sadran scored 53 runs off 41 balls with 6 fours and a six and fell to the bowlers.
Darwish Rasooli and Asmatullah Umarzai led Afghanistan past the target with key contributions.
Rasooli scored 33 off 23 balls, including 3 fours and a six, before falling to Junaid Siddiqui for 140-5 in 17.3 overs.
Afghanistan eventually reached the target in 19.2 overs, with Asmatullah scoring 40 off 21 balls including 2 fours and 3 sixes to support Mohammad Nabi’s 3 runs.
Batting first, United Arab Emirates dismissed opener Aryansh Sharma in the first over to Asmatullah Omarzai.
Captain Muhammad Wasim was dismissed lbw by Mujeeb ur Rahman for 10 runs off 6 balls in the next over as UAE were 13-2.
Alishan Sharafu and Sohaib Khan steadied the innings with an 84-run partnership. In the end, Sharabu scored 40 runs off 31 balls, including 3 fours and 2 sixes, to dismiss Mujeeb as the UAE were bowled out for 97-3 in 11.2 overs.
Sohaib Khan was supported by Syed Haider who added 13 runs off 10 balls.
The UAE middle order collapsed as Harshid Kaushik and Muhammad Arfan were sent back for a duck by Asmatullah and Rashid Khan respectively, reducing the team to 121-6 in 15.3 overs.
Sohaib Khan scored 68 off 48 balls with 6 fours and 4 sixes as Afghanistan took control.
Azmatullah Omarzai, who bowled well for Afghanistan, took 4 wickets for 15 runs in four overs. Mujeeb ur Rahman took 2 wickets and Rashid Khan took one wicket.