T20 World Cup 2026: Afghanistan finally picked up their first win at the 2026 T20 World Cup and they owed a lot to Azmatullah Umarzai and Ibrahim Zadran. After losing their first two games, the Afghan side turned things around, beating the UAE by five wickets in their third group match. UAE batted first and set a target of 161, but Afghanistan chased it down with five wickets to spare. Honestly, Umarzai stole the show. He did just about everything. First, he tore through the UAE lineup, grabbing four wickets for just 15 runs in his four overs. Then he turned around and smashed an unbeaten 40 off just 21 balls to help seal the win. Afghanistan reached the target in 19.2 overs.
The Afghans had a rough start, losing Rahmanullah Gurbaz to the second ball of the match, but Ibrahim Zadran steadied things, scoring 53 off 41. Gulbadin Naib chipped in with 13, Sediqullah Atal added 16, and Darvesh Rasooli played a lively hand, hitting 33 from 23 balls. On the UAE side, Shoaib Khan was the main reason they got to 160 for nine.
He hammered 68 off 48 balls, clearing the ropes four times and hitting six boundaries. He and Aalishan Sharafu (who scored 40) put together a huge 84-run partnership for the third wicket. But Afghanistan’s quicks kept chipping away. Umarzai (4 for 15) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2 for 31) picked up wickets at regular intervals, even as Shoaib kept the innings afloat.
Afghan skipper Rashid Khan (1 for 24) won the toss and put UAE in to bat, and that paid off. UAE lost both openers, Aryansh Sharma for a duck and captain Mohammad Wasim for 10, leaving them at 13 for 2 in the second over. Shoaib then guided them to 55 for 2 by the end of the powerplay. Rashid brought Mujeeb back into the attack, and Sharafu tried to go big but ended up caught by Zadran for 40. Umarzai struck twice in the 15th over, removing Syed Haider (13) and Harshit Kaushik for a duck.
In the 18th over, Haider Ali picked up a couple of boundaries. UAE crossed the 150 mark in the 19th with a four from Shoaib, but he fell to Mujeeb the very next ball. Haider Ali went in the last over, and Junaid followed off the final delivery. In the end, Afghanistan’s chase and Umarzai’s all-around brilliance got them over the line.
