September 9, 2025

On a nail-biting Sunday night at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Pakistan’s left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz performed a magical hat trick, steering his team to a stunning 75-run victory over Afghanistan in the Twenty20 tri-series final. The match also featured United Arab Emirates, but all eyes were on the dramatic finale. Afghanistan struggled badly with the bat and were bundled out for just 66, their second lowest-ever T20 total! Rashid Khan led Afghanistan's bowling with 3 wickets for 38 runs, making sure Pakistan couldn’t score big as they finished at 141 for 8. This was the lowest first-innings score in the tournament. Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said, "It was the kind of wicket where even 130-140 was always going to be challenging and once we got there, we knew it would be tough for them." He praised Nawaz, adding, "Since Nawaz's comeback, he's been outstanding, performing brilliantly in all departments. For me, he's the guy I can rely on in tough situations." And what a tough situation it was! Nawaz tore into the Afghan middle order, taking the wickets of Darwish Rasooli and Azmatullah Omarzai with back-to-back balls in his very first over. Then, in his second over, he shocked everyone by taking a hat trick—stumping the in-form batter Ibrahim Zadran on the very first ball. This made Nawaz only the third Pakistani bowler to claim a T20 hat trick, joining fast bowlers Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Hasnain who achieved the feat in 2017 and 2019. Nawaz’s spell was fiery and lethal. He grabbed four wickets for just one run in his first two overs, including dismissing Karim Janat leg before wicket off a razor-sharp straight delivery. He perfect his dream night by also bowling out Rashid Khan in his last over. Rashid, playing his 100th T20, managed to score only 17 runs. Afghanistan’s batting collapsed early. Only Sediqullah Atal reached double figures with 13. Meanwhile, Pakistani spinners Sufiyan Muqeem (2 for 9) and Abrar Ahmed (2 for 17) baffled the Afghan batters with tricky spin. Rashid Khan admitted, "I feel like that was a chaseable total but we didn't play the brand of cricket we wanted. Losing five wickets inside the powerplay made it really hard to bounce back ... it's important for us to learn from these conditions ahead of the Asia Cup." Pakistan’s batting was shaky too. At one point, they were 72 for 5 in the 12th over. But Nawaz came to the rescue again with 25 runs off 21 balls, teaming up with captain Agha (24 runs) for a vital 40-run partnership. Saim Ayub managed just 17 runs off 19 balls, while Fakhar Zaman fell leg before wicket for 27. Despite the spinners causing havoc, Pakistan’s strong all-rounder lineup proved their mettle and gave them confidence going into the Asia Cup starting Tuesday in UAE. Captain Agha said, "We wanted to prepare in a way that helps us for the Asia Cup and we've done that. We've been doing really well since the Bangladesh home series. Finally, we're in very good shape and fully prepared for the Asia Cup." What a night at Sharjah! Mohammad Nawaz’s hat trick will be remembered as the spark that ignited Pakistan’s thrilling tri-series win and set the stage for an exciting Asia Cup ahead.

Read More at Economictimes →

Tags: Mohammad nawaz, Pakistan cricket, Afghanistan cricket, T20 tri-series, Hat trick, Asia cup preparation,