SHARJAH: Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz produced a career-defining performance in the UAE T20 Tri-Nation Series final against Afghanistan, leading his side to a comprehensive 75-run victory at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Nawaz became only the third Pakistani bowler in T20 International history to claim a hat-trick, and he combined it with a five-wicket haul to dismantle Afghanistan’s batting line-up.
The left-arm spinner struck twice in the 6th over, dismissing Darwish Rasooli and Azmatullah Omarzai with consecutive deliveries, before removing Ibrahim Zadran with the very first ball of his next over to complete a stunning hat-trick. He finished with remarkable bowling figures of 5 wickets for 19 runs in four overs.
Earlier in the match, Nawaz had steadied Pakistan’s innings with a valuable 25 runs off 21 balls, striking two sixes to push the total to a competitive score. His dual contribution underlined his growing stature as Pakistan’s premier T20 all-rounder.
Chasing Pakistan’s target, Afghanistan’s batting order crumbled under the pressure of Nawaz’s spell, eventually folding for just 66 runs. The victory sealed Pakistan’s dominance in the tournament and confirmed their status as the tri-series champions.
With this achievement, Nawaz joins an elite list of Pakistanis to have taken T20I hat-tricks, following in the footsteps of Faheem Ashraf (2018) and Mohammad Hasnain (2020).
For his outstanding performance, Nawaz was named both Player of the Match and Player of the Series. He ended the series with 10 wickets at an average of 11.7 and 120 runs at a strike rate above 133, underscoring his all-round brilliance.
Earlier, Pakistan set a target of 142 runs for Afghanistan at Sharjah on Sunday. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first against Afghanistan and scored 141 runs for the loss of eight wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Fakhar Zaman top-scored with 27 runs followed by Mohammad Nawaz with 25 and Agha Salman with 24.
For Afghanistan, Rashid Khan was the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets. Noor Ahmad and Fazalhaq Farooqi claimed 2 wickets each.
In the final, Pakistan made one change to their lineup, bringing in Sufiyan Muqeem in place of Salman Mirza.
Earlier in the series, both Pakistan and Afghanistan won one match each in their encounters. The host team, United Arab Emirates, lost all four of their matches and was eliminated from the tournament.
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