AFGHANISTAN finally opened its account in the T20 World Cup 2026 as it chased 161 runs and produced a thrilling five-wicket win over the United Arab Emirates at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday.
The chase didn’t get off to the best start for Afghanistan as Rahmanullah Gurbaz was dismissed for a second-ball duck by Junaid Siddique, leaving the team at 0/1.
However, Ibrahim Zadran and Gulbadin Naib put together a solid partnership as the latter smashed 13 runs off 12 balls to steady the chase before departing at 40/2 to the bowling of Muhammad Arfan.
Sediqullah Atal also contributed 16 runs, but it was Zadran who remained unbeaten on 53 runs off 41 balls with four boundaries and a six.
The dramatic finish came from Azmatullah Omarzai and Darwish Rasooli, who started the chase with 33 runs off 23 balls.
While Rasooli started the chase well, Omarzai produced the fireworks as he remained unbeaten on 40 runs off 21 balls to guide Afghanistan home in 19.2 overs, courtesy of support from Nabi.
Omarzai was not to be left out either, as his spell of 4-15 in four overs tore apart the UAE line-up in crucial situations of the game. Two wickets fell to Mujeeb Ur Rahman, while Rashid Khan took one wicket, as Afghanistan’s bowling attack kept the opposition on their toes.
Earlier, UAE were struggling against the Afghan bowling attack. Aryansh Sharma fell in the first over, while Muhammad Waseem was given lbw to Mujeeb Ur Rahman, leaving UAE at 13/2. A good partnership of 84 runs between Alishan Sharafu, who contributed 40, and Sohaib Khan, who hit 68 off 48, brought UAE back into the game, but the middle order collapsed, with Harshit Kaushik and Muhammad Arfan returning to the dugout with ducks.
The all-around display of Afghanistan, which included good batting, accurate bowling, and excellent fielding, took them from just surviving the chase to dominating the game. The match will go down in history as one of the defining moments of Afghanistan’s first-ever win, with Omarzai’s all-around display being the highlight of the game, leaving the fans eager to see how well the team can perform in the remaining games.
