Feb 16, Kathmandu - Afghanistan defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 5 wickets in a thrilling match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 today. Afghanistan won the match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi and collected its first point in the tournament.

Batting first after losing the toss, the UAE scored 160 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. For the UAE, Sohaib Khan batted brilliantly and scored 68 runs in 48 balls. Similarly, Alishan Sharafu contributed 40 runs, but the other batsmen could not perform much.

Fast bowler Azmatullah Omarzai proved to be deadly for Afghanistan. He took 4 important wickets for just 15 runs in 4 overs. Captain Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman also bowled hard and prevented the UAE from scoring a big score.

In reply, Afghanistan chased down the target of 161 runs and achieved the target in 19.2 overs for the loss of 5 wickets. Opening batsman Ibrahim Zadran scored a half-century of 53 runs in Afghanistan's victory.

Towards the end of the match, Azmatullah Omarzai scored an explosive 40 not out off just 21 balls, securing Afghanistan's victory with 4 balls to spare.

For UAE, Junaid Siddiqui and Muhammad Arfan took 2 wickets each, but could not save the team from defeat. With this victory, Afghanistan has kept itself alive in the Super-8 race.