UAE T20I Tri-Series 2025, 5th T20I Review: Fakhar, Abrar shine in Pakistan's convincing win

Pakistan secured a 31-run victory against United Arab Emirates in the fifth T20I of the UAE T20I Tri-Series 2025 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Incidentally, they defeated UAE by the same margin in their previous meeting in the tournament.

Having opted to bat first, Pakistan lost a wicket as soon as spin was introduced as Sahibzada Farhan (16 off 11) departed off Dhruv Parashar's bowling. Sahibzada's opening partner Saim Ayub (11 off 10) was also dismissed shortly after while Salman Ali Agha (7 off 5) had to make his way back inside the powerplay as well. Pakistan were 50/3 by the end of six overs.

UAE's left-arm spinner Haider Ali conceded only one run in his first over and pinned Mohammad Haris (14 off 17) lbw. Haider made another breakthrough in the second over, getting rid of Hasan Nawaz cheaply. Fakhar Zaman got to his 12th T20I fifty in the 18th over and the last two overs were dominated by Mohammad Nawaz (37* off 27) and Fakhar's power-hitting blitz. Fakhar stood unbeaten at 77 off 44 with 10 fours and two sixes.

Unlike their opposition, UAE did not lose any early wickets. Skipper Muhammad Waseem (19 off 19) was the first one to fall as Abrar Ahmed struck immediately after the powerplay concluded. Overs 7 to 10 did not yield even one boundary, as pressure kept mounting on UAE. Abrar then struck twice in his third over  to send back Asif Khan and Rahul Chopra, leaving UAE in all sorts of trouble.

Alishan Sharafu, who scored 68 off 51 with the help of four sixes and fours apiece, was the lone warrior for the hosts. Once Shaheen Afridi removed him, the game was sealed for Pakistan. Abrar stole the show with the ball, scalping four wickets for merely nine runs as Pakistan registered their third win of the tournament.