Abu Dhabi, September 15, 2025: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) registered their first victory in the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025, defeating Oman by 42 runs at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Monday, powered by half-centuries from skipper Muhammad Waseem and Alishan Sharafu and a fiery spell from Junaid Siddique.
Batting first, UAE’s openers gave their side a flying start, with Waseem and Sharafu racing to a 50-run stand inside the powerplay. By the halfway mark, they had pushed the score to 81 without loss.
Sharafu brought up his 10th T20I half-century before falling for 51 off 38 balls, while Waseem anchored the innings with a composed 69 off 54 deliveries — his 24th career fifty — becoming the first Emirati batter to cross 3,000 T20I runs. Cameos from Mohammad Zohaib (21 off 13) and Harshit Kaushik (19* off 8) carried UAE to a competitive 172-5.
Oman’s reply unraveled quickly. Junaid struck in his opening spell, removing Aamir Kaleem and skipper Jatinder Singh to leave Oman reeling at 23-2. The collapse deepened as Haider Ali, Mohammad Rohid, and Jawadullah ripped through the middle order, reducing Oman to 50-5 inside seven overs.
A brief 38-run stand between Aryan Bisht (24) and wicketkeeper Vinayak Shukla (20) offered resistance, but Junaid’s return sealed the contest. He claimed two more scalps to finish with match-winning figures of 4-23. Oman were bowled out for 130 in 18.4 overs.
For UAE, Haider Ali and Jawadullah took two wickets apiece, while Rohid chipped in with one.
