DUBAI: UAE’s Junaid Siddique struck an early blow to Pakistan as he dismissed opening batters Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan in the starting overs during the must-win match in the Asia Cup 2025 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, on Wednesday.
Earlier, the United Arab Emirates opted to bowl first after winning the toss against Pakistan.
Today’s match faced a delay of an hour as Pakistan took a stand not to appear after lodging complaint against ICC match referee Andy Pycroft following handshake row during the tournament’s high-stakes match against India.
However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sent its team to the stadium after Pycroft apologised skipper Salman Ali Agha and manager Naveed Akram Cheema, terming the incident “result of miscommunication”.
Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council also expressed its willingness to conduct an inquiry into the code of conduct violation.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Haris(w), Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha(c), Khushdil Shah, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Abrar Ahmed.
UAE: Alishan Sharafu, Muhammad Waseem (c), Asif Khan, Muhammad Zohaib, Harshit Kaushik, Rahul Chopra (wk), Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Muhammad Rohid Khan, Simranjeet Singh and Junaid Siddique.
Head to Head
Pakistan and the UAE have faced each other three times in T20 cricket. Pakistan have won all three encounters, while the UAE are yet to register a victory against them.
Matches played: 03
Pakistan won: 03
UAE won: 00
Form Guide
After their recent win over Oman, the UAE will turn their focus to a must-win clash against the Green Shirts, following a disappointing campaign opener against India.
Pakistan, with a better net run rate compared to the UAE, will also aim to reach the Super Four stage after securing a win against Oman in their opener and suffering a defeat to India in their second match.
UAE: W, L, L, L, L (most recent first)
Pakistan: L, W, W, W, L
