UAE vs PAK Match Highlights: Pakistan Beat UAE by 41 Runs to Enter Super 4s

Pakistan win by 41 runs and qualify for Super 4s. UAE have been knocked out of the tournament. A gripping contest, tournament at stake, a long delay before the start, off the field drama, a couple of memorable performance and some forgettable cricket towards the end, that is how this clash panned out. In the end, it produces a predictable result. Pakistan register a comfortable win and get themselves a ticket to the Super 4s.

However, it would be wrong to merely look at the scorecard and assume that it was one-way traffic throughout. For the large part, the fans of the Green Shirts would have been at the edge of their seats, following the action with their fingers crossed. UAE had them on the mat, but failed to keep them pinned. 

Pakistan beat UAE by 41 runs to seal Super 4 spot

It began with a fine display of new ball bowling from Junaid Siddique and Muhammad Rohid Khan. The former returned with 4 wickets and the latter with none. But up top, it was pretty much partnership bowling from them. The duo together kept things under check in the powerplay. Then, came the showstopper Simranjeet Singh Kang, an orthodox left arm spinner who did not "dart in" a single ball. He rather relied on flight, deception and drift to fox the batters and had a successful night. His 3/26 would have warmed the hearts of the purists. 

Dhruv Parashar and Haider Ali too did their job and hence, despite Fakhar Zaman's half-century Pakistan appeared to be struggling to get to a good score for the most part. However, a brisk cameo of 29* (14) from Shaheen Afridi helped them get to a respectable 146/9. 

UAE seemed in the chase for a long time. Despite losing three wickets in the powerplay and slowing up in a the middle overs, they were not out of the contest, until Parashar holed out to Khushdil Shah off the bowling of Haris Rauf. That triggered a collapse and UAE went from 85/3 to 105 all out. For Pakistan, it was a collective bowling effort. Afridi got the important wicket of Sharafu up top, Saim Ayub and Abrar Ahmed spun a web and Haris Rauf too chipped in with a couple. Skipper Salman Agha, who bowled for the first time in this tournament, also picked a wicket today.

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