Pakistan rip through Afghanistan as Nawaz delivers a hat-trick in Sharjah
Seventy-five runs. That was the gap between the teams in a T20I final that promised a scrap and instead turned into a statement. Pakistan defended 141/8 and routed Afghanistan for 66 in 15.5 overs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on September 7, 2025, sealing the UAE T20I Tri-Series with a bowling performance that will echo into their Asia Cup preparations.
The evening brought two milestones that pulled in opposite directions. Rashid Khan, on his 100th T20I, led Afghanistans defense with 3/38 and brief resistance with the bat. Then Mohammad Nawaz flipped the script. The left-arm spinner claimed 5/19 across four overs, including a Mohammad Nawaz hat-trick, the first of his T20I career, to break Afghanistans chase from the inside.
Packing the stands was a familiar Sharjah scene: slow surface, skiddy new ball, plenty of grip for spin as the lights took over. Pakistan read it right at the toss. Stand-in captain Salman Agha chose to bat, accepted the grind, and backed his spinners to close the door later.
How the final unfolded
Pakistans 141/8 looked light for a final until you noticed how batters were dragging the ball rather than timing it. Fakhar Zaman, the top-scorer with 27 off 26, was methodical, picking gaps and covering for regular wickets. Afghanistan never let Pakistan surge. Rashids middle-overs squeeze, allied with left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi and wrist-spinner Noor Ahmed, kept a lid on the rate. Farooqi and Noor split four wickets between them, and Rashids 3/38 came with the usual deception: fast through the air, just enough turn, and the wrongun that batters still pick late.
Pakistans finishing wasnt flashy, but it was savvy. They nudged rather than swung, happy to get 78 an over, and trusted their battery of spinners. Mohammad Nawazs handy runs down the order added to his night, and the tail squeezed out singles that kept 140 in sight. In Sharjahs T20 template, 150 is par when spinners grip it; 141 is competitive if you bowl straight and field cleanly.
Afghanistans reply never settled. Early dots fed nerves; shots aimed at release only tightened the strangle. Nawazs angle from over the wicket into the right-handers, then shaping it away with drift, forced miscues to infielders waiting like mousetraps. The hat-trick turned a wobble into a crash, and the chase shed any real shape. Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed added 2/17, teasing outside off to draw edges and mistimed drives. Left-arm wrist-spinner Sufiyan Muqeem split the stumps twice and finished with 2/9 in 2.5 overs. Afghanistans top order couldnt reset, and the middle couldnt rebuild.
Rashids 17 off 18 in his 100th T20I was the only double-digit score that carried weight. It was also a reminder of how often Afghanistan have leaned on their all-rounders to paper over batting problems. This time, there was no escape hatch. Pakistans spinners bowled stump-to-stump, the seamers didnt leak, and the fielders held nearly everything.
For all the drama of a hat-trick, the win was built on control: dot-ball pressure, field placements that invited risky chips, and a refusal to chase magic balls. It was disciplined cricket with just enough daring to break the game open.
Key numbers that framed the night:
- Pakistan 141/8 in 20 overs; Fakhar Zaman 27 (26)
- Afghanistan 66 all out in 15.5 overs; margin 75 runs
- Mohammad Nawaz 5/19 (including a hat-trick), Abrar Ahmed 2/17, Sufiyan Muqeem 2/9
- Rashid Khan: 3/38 in his 100th T20I; top-scored with 17
The cricket matched the venues character. Sharjahs short square boundaries tempt the big swing, but the pitch often asks for hands-soft touch rather than brute force. Pakistans batters understood the memo. Afghanistans didnt adjust quickly enough, especially against pace-off and slower-through-the-air spin.
From the outset, the contest had the shape of a low-scoring arm wrestle. Pakistans choice to bat first wasnt about a flying start; it was about owning the conditions before they got tackier. By the time Afghanistan walked out, the ball was older, the surface slower, and the margin for error tiny.
Umpires kept the game brisk, Pakistan rotated quickly between their three spinners to deny rhythm, and the innings change never felt like it flipped momentum. The sharpest tell? Pakistan celebrated wickets like chess wins, not lottery tickets. They knew every dismissal lined up the next.
For viewers in India, the final streamed live on the FanCode app, with the evening start bringing prime-time access without midnight yawns. Across the region, the all-Sharjah schedule meant consistent playing conditions throughout the tournament, and fans got a familiar read on how each side would approach the slow deck.
This tri-series, played entirely at Sharjah from August 29 to September 7, ran on a simple design: round-robin between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the UAE, then a top-two final. Pakistan and Afghanistan qualified from the league phase, and the final carried the rivalrys usual heat even without a huge total on the board.
What does this mean going forward? For Pakistan, a clear, transportable template. When the pitch holds, they can bat conservatively, stack spin, and apply suffocation-by-dots. Nawazs all-round value grows, Abrars control is reliable, and Sufiyans angle gives them wicket-taking variation. Captain Salman Aghas call at the toss, then his bowling changes, fit the script.
For Afghanistan, the takeaway is sharper. Their bowling remains their power baseRashid is relentless, Farooqi keeps nibbling with the new ball, and Noor brings youthful bitebut the batting needs a less boom-or-bust plan. Strike rotation, sweeps to disturb length, and a calmer read of left-arm spin cant be afterthoughts. Finals magnify those gaps.
The margin of victory also resets expectations for the Asia Cup warm-up narrative. Pakistan didnt need fireworks to look dangerous. They needed control, and they found it. Afghanistan, who are never far from a surge in white-ball cricket, must convert their bowling pressure into batting composure when the chase frays early.
Strip away the noise and the match offered simple lessons: dont chase the game in Sharjah when the ball grips; dont gift wickets trying to clear square boundaries when singles are on; and if you own the middle overs, you usually own the night. Pakistan owned them, emphatically.