Pakistan faced the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the second match of the T20I Tri-Series 2025 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on August 30, 2025. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first.
Pakistan's innings got off to a rocky start, with Junaid Siddique striking early to remove Sahibzada Farhan. Farhan attempted to clip a length delivery outside off but mistimed it, resulting in the ball hitting the off-stump. Fakhar Zaman was then dismissed by Haider Ali, who delivered a full ball outside off, beating Zaman's attempted sweep and finding the gap between bat and pad to rattle the off-stump.
Saim Ayub, however, provided some much-needed impetus to the innings. He reached his fifty in just 25 balls, putting the UAE bowlers under pressure. Ayub was particularly effective against back-of-a-length deliveries. He eventually scored 66 runs off 34 balls. Just after the powerplay, Salman Ali Agha mistimed a shot off variable bounce and edged the ball to Rahul Chopra, departing for 5 runs.
At the halfway point, Pakistan were 93/3, with Saim Ayub (66 off 34) and Hasan Nawaz (6 off 5) at the crease. After Agha's dismissal, Pakistan's scoring rate slowed down. Ayub and Nawaz focused on rotating the strike to keep the scoreboard moving. The UAE team was desperate to get Ayub's wicket, as no other Pakistani batter had reached double figures.
Haider Ali closed out the powerplay brilliantly for the UAE, conceding just three runs in the sixth over. Pakistan managed to score 51 runs in the powerplay, largely due to Saim Ayub's aggressive batting.
The UAE's bowling attack included Junaid Siddique and Muhammad Jawadullah, who led the pace department. The spin options included Muhammad Farooq and Haider Ali.
Pakistan had previously won their first match of the tri-series against Afghanistan by 39 runs. Captain Salman Agha's responsible 53-run knock and Haris Rauf's magnificent bowling helped Pakistan restrict Afghanistan to 143 runs. Rauf picked up four wickets in that match.
The tri-series is considered critical for Pakistan to build momentum before the Asia Cup.
