The Pakistan cricket team overcame a challenging situation to defeat the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Asia Cup 2025, securing their place in the Super 4 stage. The victory came after facing controversies, disputes, and threats from the team. The Pakistan team had requested that match referee Andy Pycroft be removed. The Pakistan team initially threatened to boycott the match but was eventually forced to play. The team struggled with their batting, which could have led to a loss but the bowlers helped them to win by 41 runs, getting a Super 4 berth.
The match at the Dubai International Stadium on September 17th was filled with tension. The Pakistan team and their cricket board wanted match referee Andy Pycroft removed after a disagreement. The ICC refused their demand. Pakistan threatened to boycott the match, causing a delay. The situation was resolved, and the match went ahead.
Pakistan’s batting woes continued with opener Saim Ayub getting out without scoring for the third time in a row. Other batsmen didn’t perform well and wickets fell regularly. Pakistan lost six wickets for just 93 runs by the 15.1st over. Fakhar Zaman played a good innings of 50 runs in 36 balls, but the other batsmen failed.
Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi rescued the team with 29 runs in 14 balls, taking the score to 146. Junaid Siddique took 4 wickets and Simranjeet took 3 for UAE.
UAE’s Alishan Sharafu started aggressively but was bowled in the third over. Captain Muhammad Wasim was dismissed. Rahul Chopra and Dhruv Parashar had a slow partnership, but the innings ended at 105 runs. Shaheen, Haris Rauf, and Abrar each took 2 wickets. Pakistan and India both moved on to the Super 4 stage.