KABUL (Pajhwok): Afghanistan have beaten the United Arab Emirate in the three-T20 series opener by five wickets at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
After winning the toss, Afghanistan decided to bowl first. Earlier, captain Rizwan top-scored for the UAE with a 41-ball 48, while Muhammad Waseem chipped in with 35-ball 33. The pair shared a 75-run stand for the second wicket.
Mustafa, with a 15-ball 22, and Aayan Khan (18) shared a valuable 30-run stand to take their team’s total to 142-5.
Skipper Rashid Khan took two wickets, Azmatullah Omarzai grabbed one and two of the UAE batters were run out.
Karim Janat struck 53 off 38 balls and shared a match-winning 67-run stand for the fourth wicket with Afsar Zazai (48) to chased down the target of 143 with five deliveries to spare.
The second match of the series will be played in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
sa
