Asia Cup 2025: United Arab Emirates vs Oman, Match 7 - Who Said What?

Published - 15 Sept 2025, 21:32 IST | Updated - 15 Sept 2025, 21:46 IST

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) secured their first victory in the Asia Cup 2025, defeating Oman (OMN) by 42 runs on September 15 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi. After losing the toss, UAE were put into bat, but their openers laid a strong platform with a commanding partnership.

The openers Alishan Sharafu and skipper Muhammad Waseem dominated the Oman attack, adding 88 runs for the first wicket. Sharafu struck a fluent 51 off 38 balls, featuring seven fours and a six, while Waseem anchored the innings with a fine 69 off 54 deliveries, including six boundaries and three sixes.

Although the Omani bowlers managed to pull things back in the middle overs, Waseem & Co.'s lower order provided the late flourish. Muhammad Zohaib chipped in with 21 off 13 balls, and Harshit Kaushik smashed an unbeaten 19 from just eight deliveries, lifting UAE to a competitive 172/5 in 20 overs. Jiten Ramanandi impressed with figures of 2/24 for Oman.

Chasing 173, Oman started brightly as captain Jatinder Singh made 20 off 10 balls, but regular wickets derailed their momentum. The middle order struggled, though Aryan Bisht (24) and Vinayak Shukla (20) offered some resistance. Eventually, the side was bowled out for 130 in 18.4 overs, falling well short of the target, also getting thrown out of the competition for their second-consecutive loss.

Waseem's bowlers delivered a clinical performance, led by Junaid Siddique, who claimed 4/23. Haider Ali and Muhammad Jawadullah picked up two wickets each, ensuring their team sealed a comfortable 42-run victory in front of their home crowd.

It was quite fun and was an important game for us. Glad we could do it today. It was a 4pm start so the pitch was a bit slow, so we had to use the crease a bit. That’s something I try to do often - hit straight down the ground, and also make room to hit over covers. The plan was to accelerate in the powerplay and one of us had to bat deep.

I believe credit goes to the UAE batters, they had their plans and executed well. When we started, we were on target but we lost too many wickets in crunch situations. The team is picking up but we lack a bit of experience. The track was placid and the ball was coming on nicely, we wanted to target the first six overs but we lost wickets and that put us on the backfoot. (On his wicket) He played as per plans, it was a slower one and I was a bit too early on the shot.

(On the loss against India and comeback here) The past is the past and we wanted to show this caliber to everyone with the way we can play. Very happy with today, we prepared ourselves for three days and executed well as a batting and bowling unit. We wanted to attack in the powerplay and then bat deep. (On scoring 3000 runs) It is a very proud moment for me, my family and my country. I want to continue the same way.