Abrar does the last rites, Oman are bundled out for 67. It is quite a bowling performance from Pakistan. Oman, although a lower-ranked side, just did not have a clue for most of the Pakistan attack, and unlike the previous iterations under the past regimes, this is quite a spin-heavy attack and will pose a different challenge to India compared to the last few times these sides have met on Sunday. They are looking very good, Pakistan, but it is their batting that is still a concern. However, congratulations to Salman Agha and his side for today's win. We will be back tomorrow for Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh, do join us.

It is interesting that both India and Pakistan have opted to play with the same combination. India too has one prime seamer in Bumrah with all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube playing the back-up seamers option, and Pakistan too have just Shaheen Shah Afridi and Faheem Ashraf to support the seam attack. But one noticeable thing is that both sides have to go with a lot of spin options, it is not just the number, but both have the variety. Pakistan infact, does have off-spin option too in Ayub and Agha, but India does lack in that department in options.

Faisal was backing away, and Shaheen followed the batter, and the ball took the inside edge and went onto stumps, and Faheem Ashraf has picked up the ninth wicket as Hassanain dragged one on. It has been a comprehensive bowling performance from Pakistan. As per Oman, they had no clue whatsoever what was coming at them from Pakistan; they just tried to survive, but there was hardly any intent shown to score these runs. Mirza, off all the batters, is the one who looked organized, but it was a sparkle rather than an innings of substance.

Faheem Ashraf has come into the attack and has picked up the wicket in the first over. Islam tried swinging his bat but only managed to get a lower edge, which went straight to the keeper. Although he was given out, the batter decided to send it upstairs, and there was a spike on the replay. This is getting from bad to worse for Oman. From a Pakistani perspective, this has been a terrific bowling performance. Although their batting has not come through, the bowling is firing on all cylinders. As we update, Shaheen Shah Afridi has picked up Faisal here.

Well, since our last update, Oman has two more wickets. It was Vinayak Shukla who tried to steal a single and got himself run out for a direct hit, and then it was Mirza who was playing quite well, trying to sweep Muqeem, and got the edge, and Agha at slip took a lovely catch. Oman has now lost six wickets. In bowling, they have had their moments in batting, but they are just not giving any account of themselves. There has been no attempt to build partnerships whatsoever so far.

Sufiyaan Mukheem has come into the attack and has picked up the wicket of Nadeem. As we update, Oman has lost another one, and it is Mohammad Nawaz who picks Mehmood. It was a tossed-up delivery that was going away with the angle, and the batter played across the line and ended up caught by a deep fielder. Oman is now imploding Pakistan, their ploy to use spin as the attacking weapon is showing dividence once again here.

Ayub gets the second wicket as well here. It was an orthodox off-spin this time, and Kaleem tried to play it across the line and missed the ball completely and was trapped in front of the wicket. Oman is in a bit of trouble. They have managed Shaheen Shah Afridi quite well, but Ayub definitely was a surprise package. This is how Pakistan played in the recently concluded tri-series. They have tried to win games with spin rather than pace, which was their major attack strategy under Babar Azam before.

Saim Ayub has picked up the first wicket here. It was the carrom ball from the spinner against Oman skipper Jatinder who did not read the delivery whatsoever, the ball pitched and moved away from the batter to take the off-stump. The skipper is the best batter for Oman, and now with the wicket, they are in a bit of a pickle here. Mirza has walked into the middle, and he, alongside Kaleem, needs to build a partnership here. This is not a massive total, which they are chasing; if they do apply themselves, they can get there.

Shaheen Shah Afridi has taken the new ball for Pakistan as expected. Oman has a left-hander and a right-hander at the top of the order, which is a decent thing that will make Shaheen adjust accordingly. He is looking to get swing as the left-arm bowler, he is pitching the ball up and looks to see if the ball moves late in the air, and there is a hint of it at the moment. Oman would be wise to see Afridi off with the new ball and plan their run scoring against the spinners depending on the match-ups through the middle overs accordingly.

Teams

Oman (Playing XI): Jatinder Singh(c), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Vinayak Shukla(w), Shah Faisal, Hassnain Shah, Mohammad Nadeem, Zikria Islam, Sufyan Mehmood, Shakeel Ahmed, Samay Shrivastava

Pakistan (Playing XI): Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Haris(w), Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha(c), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed

Pakistan got to 160, which is not a great total, but something they would believe they could defend with the bowling attack they have. However, once again, the batting seems to be a bit of concern for Pakistan Haris or Farhan, who have got themselves a start, had to bat till the 18th over, as these are the conditions that as a new batter, are hard to score runs straight away. As per Oman, they have pulled it back well. Kaleem and Faisal have been the pick of the bowlers. We will be right back after a short break. chase, do stay with us.

Mohammad Nawaz has fallen here, and Faisal has ended up with three wickets. It seemed like another slower one, which Nawaz tried to hit down the ground and ended up giving a catch to the long-off fielder. Pakistan has completely lost its way in the second half of this innings.

Mohammad Nawaz has started well here. The all-rounder has been in good form, and Pakistan needs a strong finish here. There was a point in the innings, 180 did look a genuine possibility, but now it seems a bit too far. The ball, as it got softer, seems to be harder to get away, especially those seamers who have cutters up their armoury. Faisal has used them quite effectively, and Hassnain, who seems to be the other designated death bowler too, needs to do the same.

Oman has predominantly looked to contain Pakistan with spin here. However, all of them seem to be a work in progress. The likes of Kaleem, although he has picked up three wickets, need to work on their accuracy. As we update, Pakistan lose their fifth wicket and it is Hasan Nawaz. It was a fuller, wider one from Faisal and Nawaz trying to hit the ball through the extra-cover, carved it straight to deep point. Pakistan is losing one too many wickets here since the 10th over mark and losing the momentum built in the first half.

First, it was Haris who tried to reverse-sweep the ball and lost his stumps to Kaleem, and then Salman Agha was first presented with a full-toss, which he chipped straight to mid-wicket. Just when Pakistan had the opportunity to change gears, they lost a couple of set batters. Fakhar Zaman and Hasan Nawaz are the batters who are in the middle at the moment, and they have to make sure not only that they build a partnership here but that the runs come at a decent clip because it is that stage of the game.

Well, as it happens, often after the water break, the wicket fell, and it is Farhan. It was Kaleem the bowler who dropped him earlier, and he finally gets his redemption. Farhan tried to give himself room and swing the bat through the line; however the length was on the fuller side and Farhan ended up giving the catch to Farhan. The partnership is finally broken for Oman, and Fakhar Zaman is the new batter who has walked into the middle. As we update Haris has fallen here.

Haris has got to his half-century. It is a pretty good innings from him. Coming into the match, he was out of form, but he played his shots and expressed himself. There is still time for him to get a ton here, and what a start that would be for Pakistan. As per Oman, they are looking a bit at sea here. Skipper Jitander has used seven bowlers in the first 10 overs, which does seem like a bit of uncertainty from his end, especially with the partnership growing as it is. They need a breakthrough here on the Oman side.

Mohammad Haris has got himself in here. He had a tough time during the Tri-series batting at six and seven but today coming in Powerplay he has had the freedom to express himself which he did and now in the powerplay with the start he has got and the quality of the opposition bowling he can milk singles find the odd boundary and make this a good 70-80 run innings to get some confidence going into the big clash against India next up. Farhan, at the other end, too, has played this quite smartly, just supporting Haris.

That is a solid power play for Pakistan in the end. They have started a bit sedately and uncertainly, but as it happens, time in the middle batting gets easier, and both Farhan and Haris picked up their strike rates as the powerplay progressed. Oman, on the other hand, should have taken their opportunity when it came to them in the 2nd over when Farhan was dropped. This is good for Pakistan, the way the power play has gone for them. If they can keep building this partnership, they can aim to get more than 180 from 20 overs.

It is one of the strange calls from Salman Agha bowl first. Usually, the teams that win the toss are inclined to bowl first in these conditions because of the dew, which would make the conditions better to bat on. We have to see as we go deeper into the tournament, or on Sunday against India, if Agha wins the toss. Although it is a gamble, it might be a tactic that would suit Pakistan because of the fragility in their batting and the approach they want to blood in their side of freedom, which might be better achieved by batting first.

Left-arm spinner Shakeel has been brought into the attack, and Farhan has presented an opportunity which the fielder dropped. Pakistan is looking like a cat on a hot tin roof in these early overs. Farhan is itching to go over the top early. One of the most important things Pakistan has to make sure of is that, although they want to play attacking cricket, they have to understand the conditions and adjust accordingly. The conditions in the UAE will hardly be conducive to scores of 200, and anything around 160-180 is what Pakistan might need to win the contest.

Faisal has picked up the first wicket here. Saim Ayub, swinging across the line, missed a straight delivery and was trapped in front of the wicket. It did look dead straight; however, Ayub decided to send it upstairs, and it was three reds on the ball-tracker. He has been going through a bit of a rut, as Saim Ayub and Pakistan's top order in general. Mohammad Haris has walked into the middle, which is a bit of a surprise, as it is Fakhar Zaman who comes at three.

The national anthems are done; it is a massive opportunity for Oman to show their mettle in this contest. As per Pakistan, they are playing or trying to replicate the modern T20 approach, but this Dubai ground is not one of those that support that style, and there is a possibility of combustion. Let's wait and see what we have in store today.

"It is the same pitch that India played UAE on. It is quite hard and looks slightly drier than that surface. You search for swing with the new ball but after that the bouncer is a potent delivery."

Jatinder Singh(c), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Vinayak Shukla(w), Shah Faisal, Hassnain Shah, Mohammad Nadeem, Zikria Islam, Sufyan Mehmood, Shakeel Ahmed, Samay Shrivastava

Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Haris(w), Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha(c), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed

We would have batted first. It is a historic moment for us to come and run shoulders with the Asian giants. (on putting the team together) It was a challenge six months ago, but the boys were so hungry to perform and grab the opportunity. It is a spin-oriented side.

We are going to bat first. It looks like a good pitch and we want to put the scoreboard pressure. We have been playing good cricket for last 2-3 months, we have been playing together from Februdary and the team is coming together, we want to continue that. We have three proper spinners and three all-rounders. When we bat first we want to put above par totals and when bowling first we want to restrict the opposition to chaseable totals.

We decide the team based on the wicket. We had discussions with everyone. Everyone deserves to play. All 15. End of the day everyone deserves to play. There is no agenda. Of personal likes and dislikes.

Honestly, we are here to play and totally focussed on game. We don’t about nothing apart from the game. For the players and us, when the government tells us, we will play anywhere against any team. It will always be a competitive game.”

"Sanju has not batted at 5-6. but he is capable of batting anywhere. Everyone is capable of batting everywhere. Everyone is prepared to bat at any number. Everyone knows there role.”

“He hasn’t learned how to bowl outswing on a consistent basis. He has only two types of deliveries. Either he will bowl a yorker or keep straight. The world knows about his bowling now, and the batters are prepared to take on him. He doesn’t know how to take the ball away from the batter.”

Asia Cup 2025 is played in extremely hot and humid conditions where players are visibly struggling. To combat the heat, the support staff provides ice towels and electrolyte drinks, and match protocols are altered with longer breaks and on-field hydration from substitutes. (Read more from Sandip G)

“The only disadvantage in India is that they have not played T20Is. They must be playing warm-up matches or practicing. But they have not played any match. This may be a disadvantage,”

“We get emotional or hyper and try to do everything in one go. We don’t take the games deep against India and because of this, Pakistan lose most of the time. India on the other hand play according to the pitch and match situation and that’s why they succeed,”

“I think it’s really harsh to challenge a player on their form in three games,” he said at a press conference. “Babar played nicely in the first ODI but missed out on the next two. There’s no doubt Babar’s been asked to improve in some areas around taking on spin and in terms of his strike rate. Those are things he’s working really hard on,”

“I think this team is doing OK. They have given enough chances to Babar and Rizwan as openers for 4 or 5 years. They did well, but not as well, not as consistently, and hence the new boys,” Wasim Akram said, speaking on Sony Sports.

“Babar is not there, Rizwan is not there. I think the idea was to move on from them, to go to these youngsters. They’ve done well, haven’t been consistent, but at least they have the right mindset. They don’t have a fear of losing. When you have a fear of losing, you buckle under pressure. So these guys, they might lose, but I think Salman Agha is a good captain,” he added.

Jatinder Singh (C), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza (wk), Mohammad Nadeem, Ashish Odedara, Vinayak Shukla, Aryan Bisht, Sufyan Mehmood, Samay Shrivastava, Shakeel Ahmed, Hassnain Shah

Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, FK Zaman, Agha Salman (C), H Nawaz, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, S Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

Hello and welcome to our live blog of Pakistan taking on Oman. Although it is quite a one-sided affair on paper, we have seen Pakistan at times slip up against sides like Oman in high-profile tournaments, hence it is going to be a bit of a shaky start for Pakistan, or at least fans would be a tad bit nervous. Stay with us for all the updates.