The United Arab Emirates (UAE) won their first Asia Cup 2025 match, defeating Oman (OMN) by 42 runs on September 15 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. After losing the toss, UAE were put in to bat, but their openers built a solid foundation with a dominating partnership.
The openers Alishan Sharafu and Muhammad Waseem overpowered the Oman attack, scoring 88 runs for the first wicket. Sharafu scored a fluent 51 off 38 balls, with seven fours and a six, while Waseem anchored the innings with a superb 69 off 54 deliveries, including six boundaries and three sixes.
Although the Omani bowlers tried to pull things back in the middle overs, Waseem & Co.’s bottom order delivered the last flourish. Muhammad Zohaib contributed 21 off 13 balls, and Harshit Kaushik slammed an unbeaten 19 off eight deliveries, helping UAE to a challenging 172/5 after 20 overs. Jiten Ramanandi impressed with stats of 2/24 for Oman.
Chasing 173, Oman started brilliantly with skipper Jatinder Singh scoring 20 off 10 balls, but regular wickets interrupted their momentum. The middle order struggled, with Aryan Bisht (24) and Vinayak Shukla (20) providing some resistance. Eventually, the team was bowled out for 130 in 18.4 overs, falling far short of the target and being eliminated from the competition for their second straight loss.
Waseem’s bowlers delivered a clinical performance, headed by Junaid Siddique (4/23). Haider Ali and Muhammad Jawadullah both took two wickets, helping their team to a comfortable 42-run victory in front of their home fans.
Who Said What?
Alishan Sharafu, Player of the Match
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.
Jatinder Singh, Oman (Losing Captain)
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.
Muhammad Waseem, UAE (Winning Captain)
(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.
India
