Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed delivered a mesmerising performance with career-best figures of 4-9, bewildering United Arab Emirates batters and guiding Pakistan to a 31-run victory that clinched their place in the T20 tri-series final. Fakhar Zaman set the stage with an unbeaten 77 off 44 balls—his first T20 half-century in 15 games—propelling Pakistan to 171-5 after captain Salman Ali Agha won the toss and chose to bat amid sloppy UAE fielding. Ahmed, in his series debut, dismantled UAE's top order with carrom balls and googlies, restricting them to 140-7 and extending the trend of successful defences to five games. Afghanistan, with four points, will face UAE in the final league match on Friday before meeting Pakistan in Sunday's decider.

UAE's batting lineup crumbled under Ahmed's mystery spin during the powerplay. Captain Mohammad Waseem (19) misread a carrom ball and sliced a catch to point, while Alishan Sharafu and Ethan D'Souza (9 off 14) failed to build momentum, with D'Souza holing out to deep square leg. Ahmed's return spell was devastating, claiming Asif Khan and Rahul Chopra in quick succession, followed by Harshit Kaushik on his final delivery, leaving UAE at 102-5 after 15 overs. Sharafu's late counterattack of 68 off 51 balls offered brief hope, but he fell to Shaheen Shah Afridi's off-cutter, caught by Agha at mid-off, sealing UAE's fate.

Pakistan's innings had started aggressively under new coach Mike Hesson, reaching 50-3 in the powerplay before slipping to 80-5 with quick wickets of Mohammad Haris (14) and Hasan Nawaz (4) by Agha. Zaman and Mohammad Nawaz (37 not out) then staged a record T20I sixth-wicket stand of 91 runs off 51 balls, surviving drops off Haider Ali (2-17) on consecutive deliveries. The pair exploded in the closing overs, smashing 42 runs, including Nawaz's three fours and a six off Junaid Siddique (1-52) in a 20-run 19th over.

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Zaman capitalised on UAE errors, surviving a drop on 39 and reaching 50 amid misfields before unleashing five consecutive boundaries off Mohammad Jawadullah's final over with lap shots and edges. This late surge, featuring eight boundaries and a six in the last 10 balls, turned the game decisively. Ahmed's dominance ensured Pakistan's dominance, setting up an exciting final against Afghanistan.

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