DUBAI: Mohammad Haris hit a return-to-form half century before bowlers routed Oman as Pakistan opened their Asia Cup campaign with a thumping 93-run victory here at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday.
Haris anchored the innings with a 43-ball 66 spiced with seven boundaries and three sixes as Pakistan scored a below-par 160-7 against tournament debutants.
But spinners Sufiyan Muqeem (2-7) and Saim Ayub (2-8) and seamer Faheem Ashraf (2-6) atoned for unimpressive batting as Oman — comprising of six expats from Pakistan — folded for 67 in 16.4 overs.
Hammad Mirza, top-scored with 27 off 23 balls which contained a six and three boundaries.
“With the bat, we still need to work, but with the ball, it was outstanding,” reflected Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha. “The spinners bowled really well. We have three spinners, and all are very different. We have Saim as well, he is outstanding with the new and old ball. When you come to UAE, you need to have a lot of spinners.”
Earlier, Oman’s spinner Aamir Kaleem (3-31) and pacer Shah Faisal grabbed (3-34) and kept Pakistan batters under control.
It was Haris who helped Pakistan — who won the toss and batted — with his second score of over fifty in T20Is.
Haris added a damage-repairing 85 for the second wicket with Sahibzada Farhan after Faisal dismissed Saim with the second ball of the innings.
“Much needed innings for me and I’m happy to contribute,” Haris said after the match, noting the tricky nature of the pitch. “When we came here, it was looking good and flat. But when we batted, we were struggling. Good to post that total.”
On playing at his preferred one-down position, Haris added: “Whatever the team demands, I can accommodate. Even if they ask me to bat at 10, I will be happy to do it.”
Sahibzada scored a run-a-ball 29 with one boundary.
Faisal also dismissed Hasan Nawaz (nine) and Mohammad Nawaz (19) to cap an impressive T20I debut.
Pakistan added 49 in the last five overs, with Fakhar Zaman remaining unbeaten on a 16-ball 23.
Pakistan now face arch-rivals India in a high-voltage Group ‘A’ match in on Sunday.
“We have been playing really good cricket,” said Salman. “We just have to do that [on Sunday]. If we can execute our plans for a long enough period, we are good enough to beat any team.”
Oman next take on hosts UAE, who will also be looking to rebound from a thumping against India in their opener.
“Restricting Pakistan under 160, it was really good, really proud of the boys — the way they bowled and fielded,” Oman captain Jatinder Singh said.
“The boys were bang on target, they executed the plans we discussed. Our team is a lot better than what we performed today, and I’m confident that we can do a lot better [in the upcoming games].”
SCOREBOARD
PAKISTAN:
Sahibzada Farhan c&b Kaleem 29
Saim Ayub lbw b Faisal 0
Mohammad Haris b Kaleem 66
Fakhar Zaman not out 23
Salman Ali Agha c Mirza b Kaleem 0
Hasan Nawaz c Shah b Faisa l9
Mohammad Nawaz c (sub) b Faisal 19
Faheem Ashraf c Islam b Nadeem 8
Shaheen Shah Afridi not out 2
EXTRAS (W-4) 4
TOTAL (for seven wickets, 20 overs) 160
DID NOT BAT: Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-4 (Saim), 2-89 (Sahibzada), 3-102 (Haris), 4-102 (Salman), 5-120 (Hasan), 6-148 (Nawaz), 7-158 (Faheem)
BOWLING: Faisal 4-0-34-3 (2w), Ahmed 4-0-17-0, Nadeem 3-0-23-1 (1w), Kaleem 4-0-31-3, Shrivastava 1-0-12-0, Shah 3-0-31-0, Mehmood 1-0-12-0
OMAN:
A. Kaleem lbw b Saim 13
J. Singh b Saim 1
H. Mirza c Salman b Sufiyan 27
M. Nadeem c Abrar b Sufiyan 3
S. Mehmood c Hasan b Nawaz 1
V. Shukla run out 2
Z. Islam c Haris b Faheem 0
S. Faisal b Shaheen 1
S. Ahmed c Shaheen b Abrar 10
H. Shah b Faheem 1
S. Shrivastava not out 5
EXTRAS (LB-1, W-2) 3
TOTAL (all out, 16.4 overs) 67 FALL OF WICKETS: 1-2 (Singh), 2-24 (Kaleem), 3-41 (Nadeem), 4-42 (Mehmood), 5-49 (Shukla), 6-49 (Mirza), 7-50 (Islam), 8-50 (Faisal), 9-51 (Shah)
BOWLING: Shaheen 4-0-20-1 (1w), Saim 2-0-8-2, Abrar 3.4-1-12-1, Nawaz 2-0-13-1, Sufiyan 3-0-7-2, Faheem 2-0-6-2 (1w)
RESULT: Pakistan won by 93 runs.
PLAYER-OF-THE-MATCH: Mohammad Haris
Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2025