Pakistan defeated UAE by 41 runs in their last Asia Cup 2025 Group A match
Salman Ali Agha praised left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi, saying his batting has improved a lot
India to face Pakistan in Super Fours on September 21
Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha expressed concern about his team's batting, especially the middle order, despite their facile 41-run win over United Arab Emirates in Dubai on Wednesday (September 17, 2025). The victory took Pakistan into the Super Fours, where they will face Suryakumar Yadav's India first on September 21.
It took an unbeaten 14-ball 29 from pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi to lift the Men In Green to a seemingly below-par 146-run total after their middle order collapsed. Pakistan were eight down for 128 with seven balls to go, before Afridi's pyrotechnics game them something to bowl at.
The match started an hour late as Pakistan threatened a pull-out after the handshake controversy during the previous game against India, before Salman Agha's team climbed down and showed up for the game.
Salman said at the post-match presentation: "We got the job done but we still need to improve our batting in the middle order. That's been a concern and something we need to work on. Apart from that, we did a good job.
"We haven't batted at our best yet...we're still just finding our way to 150. If we bat well in the middle overs, we can push it to 170, no matter who is the opposition."
On Afridi's batting, the skipper said: "Shaheen's batting has improved a lot; he's already great with the ball. Saim (Ayub) is someone who has been bringing us back into games and I hope he can continue like this till the end.
On the upcoming grudge match against India, who have already sealed their Super Fours berth with a game in hand, Salman said: "We're ready for any challenge and if we keep playing the way we have over the last four months, we'll be good against any side."
What Player Of the Match Shaheen Shah Afridi Said
Player of the Match Shaheen Shah Afridi, who returned figures of 2/16 in three overs apart from the late cameo, said he was not doing anything special to build his batting muscle.
"Just practising in the nets, nothing special...trying to apply that in the game as well. It's always special when you perform for your team in a winning cause. My job was to go in and hit the ball and I applied that there and it worked out successfully," he added.
UAE Captain Muhammad Waseem's Reaction
Though his side bowed out of the tournament, losing skipper Muhammad Waseem credited his bowlers for the way they restricted Pakistan in the first innings. "I would like to give credit to our bowlers. They bowled exceptionally well today and restricted them to a low total. We lost it in the batting.
Waseem said: "We were confident but I think losing three wickets in the powerplay hurt us. Up until the 15th or 16th over we were going well but then we lost our way. If we are taking responsibility, then everyone has to take responsibility — the middle order as well. I hope they do better in upcoming tournaments.
He added: "Playing against Pakistan and India was a learning experience for us and we'll look to apply those (learnings), going forward."
