New Delhi, Sept 5 (HS): Pakistan booked their place in the final of the T20I tri-series in Sharjah with a comfortable 31-run victory over hosts United Arab Emirates on Thursday night. They will now face Afghanistan in the title clash on Sunday (Sept 7).

Batting first, Pakistan had a shaky start as Sahibzada Farhan struck a couple of boundaries and a six before falling early. Youngsters Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha departed cheaply inside the powerplay, while Mohammad Haris and Hasan Nawaz also failed to settle. The scoreboard read just 81/5 after 12 overs.

From there, Fakhar Zaman (77* off 44) and Mohammad Nawaz (37* off 23) resurrected the innings with a fluent unbeaten 91-run stand. Nawaz cut loose in the 19th over, hammering three consecutive fours and a six, before Zaman capped the innings with five successive boundaries in the final over. Pakistan finished strongly at 171/5 in 20 overs.

In reply, UAE made a brisk start with a 41-run opening stand. But the introduction of leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed completely turned the tide. He ripped through the middle order with figures of 4 for 9, reducing UAE from 72/1 to 102/5. Despite a fighting knock of 68 from Alishan Sharafu, the hosts lost momentum. Shaheen Afridi chipped in with a crucial wicket as UAE were restricted to 140/7 in their 20 overs.

Brief Scores:

Pakistan 171/5 (20 overs): Fakhar Zaman 77* (44), Mohammad Nawaz 37* (23); Haider Ali 2/17

UAE 140/7 (20 overs): Alishan Sharafu 68, Muhammad Waseem 19; Abrar Ahmed 4/9, Shaheen Afridi 1/23

Result: Pakistan won by 31 runs; advanced to the final vs Afghanistan (Sept 7).

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar