UAE’s Muhammad Arfan and teammates celebrate the wicket of Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on December 16, 2026. | Photo credit: ANI
A small turnaround between the group-stage matches in the T20 World Cup meant that the players didn’t have to suffer for too long. Azmatullah Omarzai agrees after his match-winning performance against the United Arab Emirates at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Monday (February 16, 2026).
Five days after Omarzai bowled a costly super over against South Africa in Ahmedabad, the 25-year-old was happy with bat and ball. The Afghanistan all-rounder took four for 15 to restrict the UAE to 160 for nine, then hit an unbeaten 40 off 21 balls at No.6 to help his side chase down the target in 19.2 overs.
The five-wicket win was Afghanistan’s first of the tournament and will keep Rashid Khan and Co.’s hopes of entering the Super Eight stage alive.
After opting to bowl, Afghanistan lost two early wickets, reducing the Middle-East outfit to 13 for two. Omarzai makes Aryansh Sharma’s opening breakthrough.
Alishan Sharafu and Sohaib Khan counterattacked with a partnership of 84 runs for the third wicket. Whether it’s hitting the ground or deploying the sweep to target the short square boundaries, they are in control against the spinners.
Sharafu was dismissed at long-off by Mujeeb ur Rehman in the 12th over, however, the Afghan attack tightened the trap. UAE could only manage 63 runs off the last 52 balls.
The chase went on with twists and turns. After Rehmanullah Gurbaz and Gulbadin Naib departed inside the powerplay, Ibrahim Zadran steadied the ship with a half-century. But with 64 to go in seven overs, Zadran pulled Muhammad Arfan to deep midwicket.
Darwish Rasooli and Omarzai put on a 43-run partnership for the fifth wicket and Muhammad Javadullah hit a six and a four in the final over. As Omarzai scored the winning runs in the last over, Afghanistan breathed a sigh of relief.
Scores: United Arab Emirates 160/9 in 20 overs (Alishan Sharafu 40, Sohaib Khan 68, Azmatullah Omarzai 4/15, Mujeeb ur Rehman 2/31) to Afghanistan 162/5 in 19.2 overs (Ibrahim 3 Rasumatrajmatrajmat 53 40 No, Junaid Siddique 2/23, Muhammad Arfan 2/30).
Toss: Afghanistan; P.O.M.: Omarzai.
Published – February 16, 2026 11:20 am IST
