Chasing Bangladesh’s massive total of 205 runs on the small ground in Sharjah was never going to be easy. But the UAE team proved that with belief, even the impossible can become possible. The charge was led by captain Muhammad Waseem, whose blistering knock of 82 off 42 balls turned the tide of the match.
However, even after Waseem’s dismissal, the equation was steep—58 runs were still needed off 31 balls. But the UAE’s lower-order batters rose to the challenge with fearless hitting, ultimately pulling off a historic win—their first-ever victory over Bangladesh.
After the match, a visibly emotional Waseem said, “I’m speechless. It feels amazing to beat Bangladesh. I kept telling the team that this chase was possible because we know these conditions well.”
Waseem was born in Mian Channu, in Pakistan’s Punjab province, and began his cricketing journey with tape-ball cricket. Later, he trained at the Rashid Latif Academy in Burewala. Realizing the difficulty of making it into Pakistan’s national team, Waseem moved to the UAE, where he began his expatriate life and international career through a contract with a local organization.
Since making his T20I debut in 2021, Waseem has become the backbone of the UAE side. Over the past four years, he has been one of the most consistent performers in world cricket, scoring 2,651 runs in 71 innings at a strike rate of 156.12, including three centuries. During the same period, even India’s Suryakumar Yadav trails him slightly, with 2,443 runs in 76 innings.
Brimming with confidence, Waseem issued a strong warning to Bangladesh ahead of the final match, saying: “We’ll give our best in the last game, and our goal is to win the series 2-1.”
Originally, the series was meant to include only two T20Is. However, just before their tour of Pakistan, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), in an effort to cut costs, proposed an additional match. The Emirates Cricket Board agreed, and that bonus match has now turned into a series decider.
The high-stakes final will be played in Sharjah on Wednesday, May 21—a much-anticipated showdown between the two sides.
UA / TDS
