UAE beats Oman, sends India to Super 4s

UAE beats Oman, sends India to Super 4s

Asia Cup 2025: UAE vs Oman: United Arab Emirates defeat Oman by 42 runs to stay alive in Asia Cup 2025. Pakistan's journey to the Super 4s stage now hinges on a decisive encounter against the UAE.

The UAE easily defeated their neighbours, Oman, eliminating them from the tournament and ensuring that India moved on to the Super 4s. After scoring a solid 172 runs for 5 wickets, with both openers hitting fifties, the UAE quickly took control by getting four wickets during the PowerPlay. Junaid Siddique stood out with his bowling, making it hard for Oman to start their run chase.

During the PowerPlay, the UAE took their time to evaluate the game before they started hitting aggressively. On the other hand, Oman struggled with the pressure and lost their wickets quickly. With four players out for only 41 runs during the PowerPlay, Oman’s chances of chasing down a challenging target of 173 runs vanished before they could build any momentum.

UAE - Initial Overs

In very hot weather in Abu Dhabi, the UAE was asked to bat first but struggled early on as Ahmed bowled two tight overs. Every attempt to score runs was met with failure while Oman took control of the game. However, in the fourth over, Alishan Sharafu broke the tension by hitting two boundaries charging at Shah Faisal to hit one straight back down the ground and then slicing another through point. UAE's captain, Muhammad Waseem, then joined in, hitting three fours in the next over, bowled by Aamir Kaleem. Sharafu kept up the momentum, charging at Hassnain Shah and hitting three more boundaries to finish the PowerPlay strong.

Middle Overs

The UAE kept pushing forward with Sharafu hitting the first six of the match by sending the ball over extra cover. Just two balls later, Waseem followed suit and cleared the long-off boundary with a six. Oman struggled to take a wicket, and Waseem was almost out when Hammad Mirza misjudged a catch on the long-on boundary. To make things worse for Oman, Waseem was dropped again shortly after when Ahmed failed to catch an easier high ball at square leg. However, Oman finally got their breakthrough when Sharafu, who just reached fifty, was bowled out by Jiten Ramanandi. Waseem had a close call with an LBW decision but managed to stay in. Asif Khan, on the other hand, was dismissed quickly after he hit a delivery from Shrivastava onto his stumps. Even though Oman managed to bowl a few tight overs, Waseem kept the UAE's momentum going and scored his fifty with a six in the 15th over.

Death Overs

Muhammad Zohaib played quickly, helping the UAE keep their innings strong while Waseem provided stability at the other end. They added 49 runs together off just 29 balls. After their partnership ended, with Zohaib mishitting a pull shot off a slower ball, Harshit Kaushik came in and boosted the UAE's score with two consecutive sixes and a four in the 19th over. In the final over, they only scored eight runs, as Waseem got run out and Rahul Chopra was caught on the very next ball. Despite this, the UAE ended with a solid total of 172 runs for 5 wickets.

Oman - Initial Overs

In their chase, Oman got off to a rough start when Junaid Siddique had Aamir Kaleem caught out at mid-off in the very first over. They missed a chance for a second wicket when Muhammad Jawadullah dropped a catch off Hammad Mirza just two balls later. Jatinder Singh tried to settle in and hit three nice shots through the off-side in a row, but he was out the next over after he accidentally hit a short ball onto his stumps, giving Siddique his second wicket. Things got worse for Oman as Wasim Ali and Hammad Mirza got out in two consecutive overs. It could have been worse if the UAE hadn't messed up a run-out opportunity. Dhruv Parashar bowled a good over, getting two LBW appeals turned down, finishing a strong bowling PowerPlay for the UAE.

Middle Overs

The UAE kept pushing ahead with Sharafu hitting the first six of the innings by sending the ball over extra cover. Just two balls later, Waseem also hit a six, sending one over long-off. Oman struggled to take a wicket, and Waseem got lucky when Hammad Mirza dropped a catch he should have caught on the long-on boundary. Oman's poor fielding continued as they dropped Waseem again in the next over, with Ahmed missing an easier catch at square leg. However, Oman finally got a breakthrough when Jiten Ramanandi bowled Sharafu, who had just reached fifty. Waseem had a close call with an LBW appeal but managed to stay in, while Asif Khan was out quickly after he hit a ball from Shrivastava onto his own stumps. Even though Oman bowled a few good overs, Waseem kept scoring and hit his fifty with a six in the 15th over.

Death Overs

With the match going nowhere, Siddique sped up Oman's defeat by taking two more wickets in the 16th over. Although he couldn’t get his first five-wicket haul, he finished with strong numbers of 4/23. Credit goes to Oman's last pair for not giving up, as Ahmed managed to hit a big six over deep square leg. However, their fight came to an end when Waseem made a direct hit at the bowler's end, catching Shrivastava short of his ground.