Asia Cup: Pakistan set up Sunday date with India

DUBAI: Pakistan booked their date with India in the Super-4 stage of the Asia Cup after beating UAE by 41 runs here on Wednesday. The Group ‘A’ clash was a must-win game for Pakistan following their seven-wicket defeat to India on Sunday, and they responded under pressure. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The win was set up by Shaheen Afridi, who rescued his side with a breezy 29 off just 14 balls at the death and later returned with figures of 2/16.Earlier, UAE’s bowlers dominated the first half of the match, restricting Pakistan to a modest 146 after putting them in. Junaid Siddique was the standout performer, returning exceptional figures of 4/18. Simranjeet Singh, highly rated by UAE coach Lalchand Rajput, chipped in with 3/26, his classical left-arm spin dismantling Pakistan’s middle order.Simranjeet, the 35-year-old spinner from Ludhiana, claimed the key wickets of Fakhar Zaman (50 off 36; 3x6, 2x4), Hasan Nawaz (3), and Khushdil Shah (4), leaving Pakistan reeling at 93/6. Opener Saim Ayub’s poor run continued as he fell for his third consecutive duck, slashing at a wide Siddique delivery to be caught at third man.Scores: Pak 146/9 (F Zaman 50, S Afridi 29*; J Siddique 4/18, Simranjeet 3/26) beat UAE 105 in 17.4 overs (R Chopra 35; Abrar 2/13, Afridi 2/16, Rauf 2/19) by 41 runs.