Afghanistan National Cricket Team vs United Arab Emirates National Cricket Team Match Scorecard: Omarzai’s All-Round Show Powers 5-Wicket Win

The Afghanistan national cricket team vs United Arab Emirates national cricket team match scorecard from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 tells the story of a tense, low-scoring chase decided by one man’s all-round brilliance – Afghanistan beat UAE by 5 wickets, chasing 161 with four balls in hand at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on February 16, 2026. This wasn’t just another group-stage fixture; it carried genuine survival stakes for both sides, a record-breaking bowling milestone, and a batting collapse that flipped the momentum of the entire match. Below is the complete scorecard, innings breakdown, tactical analysis, and everything you need to understand exactly how Afghanistan clawed their way back into World Cup contention.

Who Won the Afghanistan vs UAE Match?

Afghanistan beat the United Arab Emirates national cricket team by 5 wickets (with 4 balls remaining) in Match 28, Group D of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. UAE posted 160 for 9 in their 20 overs, and Afghanistan chased the target down at 162 for 5 in 19.2 overs, with Azmatullah Omarzai named Player of the Match for figures of 4 for 15 with the ball and an unbeaten 40 off 21 balls with the bat. This victory was Afghanistan’s first win of the tournament, arriving after back-to-back defeats to New Zealand and South Africa had put their qualification hopes on the brink.

Match Details and Key Information

The Afghanistan vs UAE T20 World Cup match was played at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, with Afghanistan winning the toss, electing to field first, and completing a 5-wicket chase in 19.2 overs.

Detail	Information
Venue	Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Toss	Afghanistan won, elected to field first
Result	Afghanistan won by 5 wickets (4 balls remaining)
Player of the Match	Azmatullah Omarzai
Match Number	T20I No. 3716
Pitch Behaviour	Flat, batting-friendly surface with even pace and turn
Points Earned	Afghanistan 2, UAE 0

This was a must-not-lose fixture for both sides in Group D of the T20 World Cup, and the pressure of an elimination-adjacent scenario shaped almost every tactical decision across the 40 overs. Both captains understood that a defeat here would all but end their Super 8 hopes, and that context explains the caution, and later the aggression, visible in both innings.

Full Afghanistan vs UAE Match Scorecard

United Arab Emirates Batting Card (160/9, 20 overs)

UAE were powered by Sohaib Khan’s 68 off 48 balls and Alishan Sharafu’s 40 off 31, but a late-innings collapse from 93/2 to 160/9 cost them a defendable total.

Batter	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR	Dismissal
Aryansh Sharma (wk)	0	4	0	0	0.00	c Rahmanullah Gurbaz b Azmatullah Omarzai
Muhammad Waseem (c)	10	6	2	0	166.67	lbw b Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Alishan Sharafu	40	31	3	2	129.03	c Ibrahim Zadran b Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Sohaib Khan	68	48	6	4	141.67	c Mujeeb Ur Rahman b Azmatullah Omarzai
Syed Haider Wasi Shah	13	10	1	1	130.00	b Azmatullah Omarzai
Harshit Kaushik	0	3	0	0	0.00	c Rahmanullah Gurbaz b Azmatullah Omarzai
Muhammad Arfan	0	2	0	0	0.00	Hit wicket b Rashid Khan
Haider Ali	13	12	2	0	108.33	Run out (Rahmanullah Gurbaz)
Simranjeet Singh	–	–	–	–	–	Not out
Junaid Siddique	3	2	–	–	–	Not out
Muhammad Jawadullah	–	–	–	–	–	Did not bat
Total	160/9	20.0 overs	–	–	–	–

Fall of wickets (UAE): 1-0 (Sharma, 0.4 ov), 2-13 (Waseem, 1.6 ov), 3-97 (Sharafu, 11.2 ov), 4-114 (Haider Shah, 14.2 ov), 5-114 (Kaushik, 14.5 ov), 6-121 (Arfan, 15.3 ov), 7-152 (Khan, 18.3 ov), 8-157 (Haider Ali, 19.4 ov), 9-160 (Siddique, 19.6 ov).

Afghanistan Bowling Figures

Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Economy
Azmatullah Omarzai	4.0	0	15	4	3.75
Mujeeb Ur Rahman	4.0	0	31	2	7.75
Rashid Khan	4.0	0	17	1	4.25
Noor Ahmad	–	–	–	0	–
Ziaur Rahman Sharifi	–	–	–	0	–

Omarzai’s spell is genuinely historic. He became only the third player, after Dwayne Bravo and Shakib Al Hasan, to score 30-plus runs and take a four-wicket haul in the same men’s T20 World Cup match.

Afghanistan Batting Card (162/5, 19.2 overs)

Afghanistan’s chase was anchored by Ibrahim Zadran’s 53 off 41 balls, before Azmatullah Omarzai’s unbeaten 40 off 21 sealed a nervy 5-wicket win.

Batter	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR	Dismissal
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk)	0	2	0	0	0.00	C Sohaib Khan b Junaid Siddique
Ibrahim Zadran	53	41	6	1	129.27	c Muhammad Waseem b Muhammad Arfan
Gulbadin Naib	13	12	1	1	108.33	c Harshit Kaushik b Muhammad Arfan
Sediqullah Atal	16	14	1	1	114.29	b Muhammad Jawadullah
Darwish Rasooli	33	23	3	1	143.48	b Junaid Siddique
Azmatullah Omarzai	40*	21	2	3	190.47	Not out
Mohammad Nabi	3*	3	–	–	–	Not out
Extras	4	–	–	–	–	(4 wides)
Total	162/5	19.2 overs	–	–	–	–

Read More: Afghanistan National Cricket Team vs United Arab Emirates National Cricket Team Match Scorecard

Fall of wickets (Afghanistan): 1-0 (Gurbaz, 0.2 ov), 2-40 (Naib, 5.3 ov), 3-70 (Atal, 9.5 ov), 4-97 (Zadran, 13.1 ov), 5-140 (Rasooli, 17.3 ov).

United Arab Emirates Bowling Figures

Bowler	Overs	Runs	Wickets	Economy
Junaid Siddique	3.2	23	2	6.90
Haider Ali	4.0	33	0	8.25
Muhammad Jawadullah	4.0	39	1	9.75
Muhammad Arfan	4.0	30	2	7.50
Simranjeet Singh	4.0	37	0	9.25

Why UAE’s Total Fell Short of a Defendable Score

UAE fell short because they failed to convert a strong 93 for 2 position after 10 overs into a genuinely defendable total, adding only 67 runs while losing seven wickets across the second half of their innings. The 84-run stand between Sohaib Khan and Alishan Sharafu was the backbone of the UAE innings, with Khan compiling his second half-century of the tournament through a mix of calculated boundary hitting and clever gap-finding against Afghanistan’s spin attack.

But that platform evaporated almost as quickly as it was built. Azmatullah Omarzai triggered the collapse with figures of 4 for 15, dismissing three batters inside a five-over burst that completely reshaped UAE’s death-overs plan. Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s two early wickets, including the dangerous Muhammad Waseem inside the powerplay, also denied UAE the explosive top-order platform they needed to push past 180. UAE’s inability to rotate strike consistently in the middle overs, combined with three run-outs and soft dismissals in the closing stages, meant a genuinely competitive score turned into a chaseable one.

The Middle-Overs Squeeze That Changed Everything

Between overs 11 and 15, UAE lost three wickets for just 17 runs – a period that effectively decided the match before Afghanistan had even walked out to bat. This is the kind of squeeze that separates competitive T20 totals from below-par ones, and it’s exactly the phase most casual scorecard readers overlook when only looking at the final total.

How Afghanistan’s Chase Turned in Their Favour

Afghanistan’s chase can be broken into three distinct phases: an early collapse, a stabilising middle, and an explosive finish. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was dismissed for a two-ball duck inside the very first over, leaving Afghanistan wobbling at 9 for 1 after three overs and facing real pressure against the new ball.

Ibrahim Zadran and Gulbadin Naib steadied the innings with a composed 30-run stand, allowing the required rate to stay manageable through the middle phase. Zadran went on to record his fourth T20I half-century against UAE specifically, playing the disciplined anchor role that every successful T20 chase needs. Afghanistan slipped to 97 for 4 when Zadran was finally dismissed by Muhammad Arfan, with 64 runs still required off 41 balls – the match was still very much in the balance at this stage.

The Rasooli-Omarzai Partnership That Sealed the Win

Darwish Rasooli and Azmatullah Omarzai added a match-winning 43-run stand in the closing overs, with Omarzai finishing unbeaten on 40 off 21 balls to complete Afghanistan’s 5-wicket chase.

This was the passage of play that decided the match. Rasooli attacked the spinners aggressively, striking three fours and a six in his 23-ball 33, while Omarzai played the finisher’s role with remarkable clarity, picking his boundary options carefully rather than swinging blindly. Omarzai brought up the winning runs with a boundary off Junaid Siddique in the final over, completing one of the most complete individual all-round performances seen so far in this T20 World Cup 2026 campaign.

Captaincy and Tactical Decisions That Shaped the Contest

Rashid Khan’s decision to field first paid off in the end, though he later admitted his side were “all over the place” in the first 10 overs of UAE’s innings before tightening up significantly in the closing stages. One of the more understated tactical calls was resting senior all-rounder Mohammad Nabi from bowling duties in favour of an in-form Mujeeb Ur Rahman – a decision that was fully vindicated by Mujeeb’s 2 for 31 and his crucial early breakthrough.

UAE captain Muhammad Waseem was candid in defeat, admitting his side finished “10-15 runs short” of a defendable total and conceded too many boundary-scoring opportunities during the middle overs. He also noted that Sharafu’s dismissal arrived at precisely the wrong moment for UAE’s momentum, just as the innings looked set to accelerate toward 180-plus.

Field Placement and Bowling Plans

Afghanistan’s use of Omarzai in short, sharp spells rather than a single continuous four-over block allowed Rashid Khan to attack specific UAE batters at their most vulnerable moments – a tactical nuance that a simple scorecard glance won’t reveal but which explains why UAE’s collapse happened when it did.

Rashid Khan’s Historic 700 T20 Wickets Milestone

Rashid Khan became the first bowler in history to reach 700 wickets in T20 cricket during this Afghanistan vs UAE match, achieving the feat with an unusual hit-wicket dismissal of Muhammad Arfan in the 16th over.

This match will be remembered for more than just the result. Rashid Khan, Afghanistan’s captain, entered the game with 699 T20 wickets and reached the historic 700-mark when Muhammad Arfan, attempting a reverse sweep, struck his own stumps and was given out hit wicket. Rashid became the first player in the history of T20 cricket, across international and domestic formats combined, to reach this milestone, doing so in his 517th match and 191st T20I appearance for Afghanistan. It was a fittingly unusual way to reach a landmark that no bowler before him had touched, and it added genuine historical weight to what was already a pressure-cooker fixture.

Head-to-Head Record Between Afghanistan and UAE

Afghanistan hold a commanding 11-3 win-loss record against UAE in T20Is heading into this match, having also won each of their previous three meetings between the two sides. This head-to-head dominance reflects Afghanistan’s overall depth advantage in bowling, particularly their spin attack, which has historically troubled UAE’s middle order across multiple bilateral series and multi-team tournaments.

Impact on Group D Standings and Qualification

This win was Afghanistan’s first of the tournament, keeping their slim qualification hopes alive after back-to-back defeats to New Zealand and South Africa in their opening two games. The result also mathematically confirmed South Africa’s progression to the Super 8 stage as group toppers. By the end of the group stage, the final Group D standings showed South Africa finishing top with 8 points from 4 wins, followed by New Zealand on 6 points, with Afghanistan ultimately eliminated on 4 points and UAE also eliminated on 2 points despite this narrow escape from a heavier defeat margin.

Both Afghanistan and UAE went into their remaining fixtures knowing they needed heavily favourable net-run-rate scenarios elsewhere to have any realistic route into the knockout stage – a scenario that ultimately didn’t materialise for either side by the tournament’s end.

Player Performance Ratings

To understand the true impact of individual contributions beyond raw numbers, it helps to rank the standout performers of this match by overall influence on the result.

Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghanistan): Match-winning all-rounder, 4/15 and 40* – the single biggest factor in the result

Sohaib Khan (UAE): Top scorer with 68, gave UAE their platform despite the eventual loss

Ibrahim Zadran (Afghanistan): Anchored the chase with a crucial 53 off 41 during the most fragile phase

Rashid Khan (Afghanistan): Historic 700th T20 wicket, plus sharp captaincy in the bowling changes

Alishan Sharafu (UAE): Key partner in UAE’s 84-run stand; dismissal proved a turning point

Frequently Asked Questions