Abu Dhabi: India became the first team to confirm their place in the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup 2025 from group A after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) secured their maiden win of the tournament, defeating Oman by 42 runs in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
The result not only kept UAE in contention for the next round but also officially eliminated Oman, who slumped to their second successive defeat.
Suryakumar Yadav’s men, who began their campaign with a clinical win over UAE before thrashing Pakistan by seven wickets on Sunday, were virtually assured of progression. But UAE’s triumph ensured India advanced with two wins from two matches in Group A. The remaining slot will now be decided in a virtual knockout between Pakistan and UAE on Wednesday.
Put into bat, UAE made the most of the powerplay thanks to an 88-run opening stand between skipper Muhammad Waseem and Alishan Sharafu. Sharafu was the aggressor early on, charging down the track to disrupt Omani spinners and striking six boundaries inside the field restrictions. He brought up a fluent half-century off 37 balls before being bowled by Jiten Ramanandi for 51.
At the other end, Waseem anchored the innings with a patient 69 off 54 balls, a knock that also saw him become the fourth-quickest batter to 3000 T20I runs, joining elite company alongside Virat Kohli, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. Though he struggled at times for timing, Waseem cashed in on dropped chances and raised his fifty with a trademark six down the ground.
Cameos from Mohammad Zuhaib (21 off 13) and Harshit Kaushik (19* off 8) pushed UAE to a competitive 172 for 5. Among Oman’s bowlers, only Ramanandi (2/24) and Shakeel Ahmed (0/16) kept things tight, while the rest leaked runs.
Oman’s chase faltered almost immediately. Junaid Siddique (4/23) removed both openers—Aamir Kaleem (2) and skipper Jatinder Singh (20)—within the first four overs. The middle order crumbled under pressure, with Haider Ali (2/22) and Muhammad Jawadullah (2/18) also striking regularly. From 32 for 4 and later 50 for 5, Oman never recovered despite brief resistance from debutant Aryan Bisht (24) and wicketkeeper Vinayak Shukla (20). They were eventually bundled out for 130 in 18.4 overs.
The victory was a massive boost for UAE, who remain in the hunt for Super 4 qualification, while Oman’s campaign came to a premature end after back-to-back defeats. With India safely through, all eyes now turn to Wednesday’s high-stakes clash between Pakistan and UAE, which will decide the group’s second qualifier.
(IANS)
