Azmatullah Omarzai delivered an outstanding all-round performance that propelled Afghanistan to their maiden Group D triumph in the T20 World Cup 2026, held in Delhi on Monday. Omarzai initially excelled with his bowling, recording impressive figures of 4/15 as the UAE managed to accumulate 160/9 across their allocated 20 overs after being invited to bat first. Sohaib Khan produced a notable half-century (68 from 48 deliveries) for the UAE. During Afghanistan’s chase, Ibrahim Zadran crafted a solid half-century (53 from 41 balls), though it was Omarzai’s exceptional undefeated 40 from just 21 deliveries that guided Afghanistan over the finish line with merely four deliveries remaining. Omarzai Played A Key Role To Keep Super 8 Dream On .
TOSS-
Afghanistan secured the toss and elected to bowl first.
PLAYING XI-
United Arab Emirates (Playing XI):
Aryansh Sharma(w), Muhammad Waseem(c), Alishan Sharafu, Sohaib Khan, Syed Haider, Harshit Kaushik, Muhammad Arfan, Haider Ali, Simranjeet Singh, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Jawadullah
Afghanistan (Playing XI):
Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan(c), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Ziaur Rahman Sharifi
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES-
Following their invitation to bat first, the UAE bounced back from initial difficulties to establish a respectable total, though a final-over collapse prevented them from achieving a more commanding position. Omarzai made his mark in the first over by dismissing Aryansh Sharma, while Mujeeb Ur Rahman secured Muhammad Waseem’s wicket via lbw, leaving the UAE struggling at 13 for 2. Notwithstanding these early challenges, Sohaib Khan and Alishan Sharafu launched a spirited fightback with aggressive batting, consistently locating boundaries to guide the UAE to 55 for 2 at the PowerPlay’s conclusion.
Their resurgence gained further traction during the middle phase as both batsmen challenged Afghanistan’s spin attack, advancing their team to 97 for 2 at the ten-over mark. The 84-run partnership established their team’s dominance, yet the innings began to unravel when dismissals occurred around Sohaib precisely when he appeared poised to intensify the scoring rate. Throughout the decline, he continued discovering boundaries and reached his fifty with a maximum off Rashid Khan, maintaining prospects for a final flourish.
Afghanistan actually got the momentum back when Mujeeb definitely got Sharafu out. Basically, Omarzai led the comeback when UAE kept losing wickets together and couldn’t build on the same good start they had. Sohaib’s dismissal for 68 in the 19th over was crucial, and the chaotic final over with multiple run-outs showed the scramble itself. UAE further managed only 160 for 9, which was a par total after they looked set for more.
AFGHANISTAN-
Junaid Siddique took five wickets against Canada and further gave UAE a good start by getting Rahmanullah Gurbaz out at third man itself. Afghanistan actually started slowly with just nine runs in three overs, but Ibrahim Zadran definitely brought speed to their batting chase. He hit three fours and one six against Haider Ali in the fourth over, and we are seeing Gulbadin Naib also hitting one six and four off Muhammad Jawadullah only. As per the match progress, Naib got out soon after by hitting Muhammad Arfan’s ball straight to backward point, and Afghanistan ended the PowerPlay at 41 for 2.
Zadran and Sediqullah Atal actually made 30 runs together for the third wicket, but UAE’s bowlers definitely stayed in control and kept the runs low even though Atal hit some fours and one six. Jawadullah further broke the partnership with a yorker that dismissed Atal, and Afghanistan found itself at 71 for 3 at the halfway stage. Zadran surely completed his fifty in 37 balls but Arfan dismissed him immediately after. Moreover, Afghanistan’s position weakened as they fell to 97 for 4 in the 14th over.
As per the match situation, Afghanistan needed 61 runs from the last six overs and was under pressure. Regarding the game’s turning point, Darwish Rasooli and Omarzai hit important boundaries to change the match. Their counterattack surely brought the equation down to 28 runs needed from 18 balls. Moreover, Siddique came back to dismiss Rasooli for 33 runs after Omarzai had hit him for a six. Basically, Jawadullah bowled tight in the 19th over, but Omarzai hit the same decisive six and four to bring the target down to four runs in the last over. Basically he finished the same match with a boundary off Siddique, and Afghanistan won with four balls left.
Brief scores:
As per the match results, UAE scored 160/9 in 20 overs with Sohaib Khan making 68 runs and Alishan Sharafu scoring 40 runs, while Azmatullah Omarzai took 4 wickets for 15 runs. Regarding Afghanistan’s innings, they won by 5 wickets after scoring 162/5 in 19.2 overs with Ibrahim Zadran making 53 runs and Azmatullah Omarzai remaining not out on 40
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