The winner of the Pakistan and the UAE match would move to the Super Four. The defeated team would have their tournament run finished. The match was delayed by an hour. The match saw the Pakistan's batters struggle before late batting display got them to a respectable score.
Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first. The decision backfired as the batting order collapsed like a house of cards with Junaid Siddique hit two jackpots in a row, bringing the team down to 9/2. It was with the help of 50 off 36 balls innings by Fakhar Zaman which established an important 61-run partnership with Salman Agha.
The momentum was slowed by frequent dismissals. Pakistan's lineup was looking threatened by UAE players Simranjeet Singh and Junaid Siddique.
Pakistan reached a fighting 146 runs on the scoreboard with the help of Shaheen Afridi's explosive 29* off 14 balls late in the innings. It included a boundary in the last over and two consecutive sixes. Siddique was the main man of the UAE's bowling effort with a final score of 4/18.
The controversy around the match referee Andy Pycroft was finished by the game's build up. The PCB asked for Pycroft to be removed due to the recent handshake controversy but their request was cancelled. Pakistan's tournament future was further unbalanced due to the talks of withdrawal after the fallout from their previous match against India. The knockout stage is knocking at the door with both teams switching up their lineups. The UAE substituted Simranjeet Singh for Jawadullah, while Pakistan added Haris and Khushdil Shah.
UAE remained in the hunt going into the chase but all credits goes to their brilliant bowling. The match is still one of the most tense and talked about in the tournament because of the plot twists that are happening both on and off the field.
