Pakistan Beat UAE to Reach Super Four Round

Pakistan made two daring changes before their must-win match against UAE in Asia Cup 2025 Group A. They brought in Haris Rauf in place of Sufiyan Muqeem, and Khushdil Shah replaced Faheem Ashraf. It paid off. But is it enough for the more brutal stages ahead?

Few saw the shake-up this dramatic. The openers again struggled. Saim Ayub failed again and Sahibzada Farhan could not set the tone. Yet Fakhar Zaman’s fifty steadied wobbling knees. Then came Shaheen Afridi’s explosive cameo late in the innings. Suddenly the score of 146 felt defendable.

On the bowling front, Rauf delivered. He grabbed key wickets. Abrar Ahmed alongside him choked UAE’s chase. The spinners squeezed. UAE folded for 105. Pakistan won by 41 runs. They advanced to the Super Four from group A. 

Still, concerns linger. The batting order feels unbalanced. Khushdil’s place ahead of Ashraf is intriguing. Farhan in the middle appears vulnerable. And the openers yet again could not bat through the powerplay. The fans cheered the win. But some murmurs suggest the structure is still messy.

That one moment when Pakistan looked out of it, mid-innings collapse, that flipped everything. That 14-ball 29 from Shaheen Afridi turned a shaky total into something with teeth. Without it, the result might have flipped.

Pakistan now face India and other top teams in the Super Four. Their energy is high. The combination though? Still far from settled. Matchups will be tougher and all the batters will be tested. More responsibility is on the bowler's shoulder to win matches for Pakistan.

Watch updated standings of group A 
 

Rank	Team	M	W	L	T	N/R	PT	NRR
1	India	2	2	0	0	0	4	4.793
2	Pakistan	3	2	1	0	0	4	1.790
3	UAE	3	1	2	0	0	2	-1.984
4	Oman	2	0	2	0	0	0