Asia Cup 2025: Brilliance from Shah Faisal and Aamir Kaleem restricts Pakistan to 160/7 in 20 overs

DUBAI: Exceptional bowling performance by Oman bowlers Shah Faisal and Aamir Kaleem restricted Pakistan to a total of 160 runs with the loss of seven wickets in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 competition, which was played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Pakistan set a target of 161 runs for Oman to win the match.

Earlier, the Men in Green skipper, Salman Agha, won the toss and elected to bat first. Players Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub came out in the middle to open the innings for their side.

The Pakistan side didn’t have the start which they wanted as they lost the first wicket on the second ball of the match as Saim Ayub was sent back to the pavillion without opening his account.

After Saim Ayub’s dismissal, the right-hand wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris came out to bat. In the first few overs, it was the Oman bowlers who were on top. In the first three to four overs, the Salman Agha-led side were unable to touch most of the deliveries.

Later, Haris took the responsiblity and started attacking the Oman bowlers. The Pakistan cricket team touched the 50-run mark on the second ball of the seventh over as Haris slammed a boundary on the bowling of Mohammed Nadeem.

On the second ball of the 10th over, Haris completed his fifty as he smashed a maximum on the bowling of Sufyan Mehmood. In the next over at the score of 89, the Pakistan side lost their second wicket as Sahibzada Farhan (29) was dismissed by Aamir Kaleem.

Following Farhan’s wicket, left-hand batter Fakhar Zaman came out to the crease.

In the 13th over, the Pakistan team completed their hundred as Fakhar took a single on the bowling of Aamir Kaleem. In the same over at the score of 102, Pakistan lost two wickets on the last two balls of the over; first it was Mohammad Haris (66) and then captain Salman Agha (0).

After the fall of two quick wickets, right-hand batter Hasan Nawaz came in the middle to bat along with Fakhar Zaman. At the score of 125, Pakistan lost the fifth wicket as Nawaz (9) was sent back to the dressing room by Shah Faisal.

Left-hand batter Mohammad Nawaz was the next one to come out to bat. On the last ball of the 19th over, when the team score was 148, the Pakistan cricket team lost their sixth wicket as Nawaz (19) was dismissed by Shah Faisal.

In the last over of the innings, Pakistan scored 12 runs and lost the wicket of Faheem Ashraf. This over was bowled by Mohammad Nadeem. The 12 runs took the Pakistan team’s total to 160/7 in their 20 overs.

For Oman, three wickets each were scalped by Shah Faisal (3/34) and Aanir Kaleem (3/31) in their respective spells of four overs. One wicket was taken by Mohammad Nadeem in his spell of three overs, where he conceded 23 runs.

Brief Scores: Pakistan 160/7 in 20 overs (Mohammad Haris 66, Sahibzada Farhan 29; Aamir Kaleem 3/31) vs Oman. (ANI)