Afghanistan Secure First T20 World Cup Win as Omarzai Delivers All-Round Masterclass

Afghanistan finally got their first win in the T20 World Cup 2026 by defeating UAE by 5 wickets in Delhi. Azmatullah Omarzai was the star of the match, performing well with both bat and ball to lead his team to victory.

UAE batted first and scored 160 runs. Sohaib Khan top-scored with 68 runs while Sharafu added 40 runs to the total. However, Omarzai bowled brilliantly and took 4 wickets for just 15 runs. Junaid Siddique also helped by taking 2 wickets for 23 runs, which kept UAE from posting a bigger score.

Afghanistan's chase started badly when Rahmanullah Gurbaz got out on the second ball. He tried to hit big but the ball went straight to a fielder at backward point. Ibrahim Zadran then played a careful innings of 53 runs from 37 balls, keeping Afghanistan in the game during tough middle overs.

The real trouble came when Afghanistan needed 52 runs in the last 5 overs. The pitch was slow and difficult for batting, making it hard to score quickly. UAE bowlers were putting pressure and the match looked very close.

This is when Omarzai changed everything with his powerful batting. He came in and started hitting boundaries freely despite the difficult pitch conditions. In the final over, he hit a six and then two consecutive fours to finish the match. He scored 40 runs from only 21 balls without getting out, striking at a rate of 190.47.

Afghanistan won with just 2 balls remaining in the final over. This important victory keeps their Super 8 qualification hopes alive after losing earlier matches in the tournament.