An upside of the short turnaround between group-stage matches in the T20 World Cup is that the players don’t have to brood over disappointments for long. Azmatullah Omarzai will concur after his match-winning display against the United Arab Emirates at the Arun Jaitley Stadium New Delhi on Monday (February 16, 2026).

Five days after Omarzai bowled a costly Super Over against South Africa in Ahmedabad, the 25-year-old found joy with bat and ball. The Afghanistan all-rounder claimed four for 15 to restrict the UAE to 160 for nine, and then smashed an unbeaten 40 off 21 balls at No. 6 to help his side hunt down the target in 19.2 overs.

The five-wicket win is Afghanistan’s first of the tournament, and allows Rashid Khan and Co. to not yet surrender hope of sneaking into the Super Eight stage.

Having elected to bowl, Afghanistan snared two wickets early, reducing the Middle-East outfit to 13 for two. Omarzai made the opening breakthrough of Aryansh Sharma.

Alishan Sharafu and Sohaib Khan counter-attacked with an 84-run alliance for the third wicket. Whether it was hitting down the ground or deploying the sweep to target the short square boundaries, they looked in control against the spinners.

Once Sharafu holed out at long-off off Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the 12th over, though, the Afghan attack tightened the noose. The UAE managed just 63 runs off the last 52 deliveries.

The run chase was laced with twists and turns. After Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Gulbadin Naib departed inside the PowerPlay, Ibrahim Zadran steadied the ship with a half-century. But with 64 needed off seven overs, Zadran pulled Muhammad Arfan to deep midwicket.

Darwish Rasooli and Omarzai forged a 43-run stand for the fifth wicket, and the latter hit Muhammad Jawadullah for a six and four in the penultimate over. When Omarzai hit the winning runs in the final over, Afghanistan heaved a sigh of relief.

The scores: United Arab Emirates 160/9 in 20 overs (Alishan Sharafu 40, Sohaib Khan 68, Azmatullah Omarzai 4/15, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2/31) lost to Afghanistan 162/5 in 19.2 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 53, Darwish Rasooli 33, Azmatullah Omarzai 40 n.o., Junaid Siddique 2/23, Muhammad Arfan 2/30).

Toss: Afghanistan; PoM: Omarzai.