Pakistan beat Afghanistan to win UAE T20I Tri-Series final: Stats
What's the story
In a day of batting collapses, Pakistan beat Afghanistan to win the 2025 UAE T20I Tri-Series final. The Men in Green successfully defended 141 on a spin-friendly Sharjah surface, with Mohammad Nawaz taking a historic hat-trick. Afghanistan, who were set a below-par total, collapsed from 28/1 to 32/6. They eventually perished for 66. Earlier, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad shared five wickets for Afghanistan.
Match summary
How the match panned out
Electing to bat, Pakistan lost Sahibzada Farhan in the first over. However, Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman propelled them toward 50. From 51/2, Afghanistan's spin bowling brought Pakistan down to 72/5. Nawaz's 21-ball 25 took Pakistan to 141/8 in 20 overs. Nawaz later spun Pakistan to victory with a staggering five-wicket haul, including a hat-trick. Afghanistan's collapse topped that of Pakistan by a distance.
Hat-trick
How Nawaz completed his hat-trick
Despite losing Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal and Ibrahim Zadran took Afghanistan toward 30 in the Powerplay. To exploit the turning track, Pakistan introduced Nawaz in the sixth over. And he responded instantly by dismissing Darwish Rasooli (0) and Azmatullah Omarzai (0) on the over's last two balls. Nawaz removed Ibrahim Zadran (9) on the first ball of his next over, thereby completing his hat-trick.
Information
Nawaz joins these names
As per ESPNcricinfo, Nawaz became the third Pakistan player to complete a hat-trick in T20I cricket. He joined the likes of Faheem Ashraf (vs Sri Lanka, 2017) and Mohammad Hasnain (vs Sri Lanka, 2019).
Fifer
Nawaz shines with fifer
After dismissing Zadran, Nawaz got rid of Karim Janat (0) in the same over. Notably, the Pakistan spinner claimed his first four wickets within 10 balls. Nawaz finally dismissed Rashid Khan, the top-scorer for Afghanistan, to complete his five-wicket haul. The Pakistan spinner, who also bowled a wicket maiden, returned figures worth 4-1-19-5. His all-round exploits helped Pakistan win the trophy.
Record
Nawaz enters record books
Nawaz scalped his maiden five-wicket haul in T20I cricket. As per Cricbuzz, he became the fifth Pakistan player with a T20I fifer, after Sufiyan Muqeem, Umar Gul, Imad Wasim, and Hasan Ali. Overall, the all-rounder now has 70 wickets from 71 T20Is at an average of 22.55. His tally includes an economy rate of 7.26. Overall, Nawaz has over 230 T20 wickets.
Information
Second-lowest T20I total for Afghanistan
According to Cricbuzz, Afghanistan recorded their second-lowest all-out total in T20I cricket, only behind 56 versus South Africa during the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup in Tarouba.
Batting
Afghanistan's batting in shambles
It is worth noting that only two Afghanistan batters scored in double figures. Sediqullah Atal smashed a 15-ball 13, while Rashid chipped in with a 17-run knock. He showed intent by smashing 2 sixes but couldn't capitalize.