United Arab Emirates vs Pakistan: Here is an unwanted T20I record that Pakistan has created in 2025

The ongoing tri-series tournament in Sharjah featuring UAE, Pakistan and Afghanistan has provided viewers with thorough entertainment. As things stand, Pakistan have virtually made it to the final even before their second game against UAE, but Salman Ali Agha's side will want to keep the momentum going till the end of the tournament. However, his batters ended up creating an unwanted record in the Powerplay against UAE.

Opting to bat, Pakistan lost three wickets in the first six overs of their innings, losing their openers Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub alongside Agha himself. While Farhan walked into the bait by off-spinner Dhruv Parashar, Ayub fell to the guile of Junaid Siddique as the left-hander nicked one through to first slip. Agha's dismissal was also similar to Ayub's, just that the bowler was Muhammad Rohid who was mighty impressive with his left-arm angle and tall frame. Losing three wickets or more in a powerplay is the recipe for disaster in T20Is and Pakistan ended up losing three in that phase. In the process, they created an unwanted record in 2025.

Agha's dismissal meant that Pakistan had lost 40 wickets in the Powerplay this year. According to Cricbuzz, the average runs-per-wicket lost was 20.5, which is the second lowest among all full-member nations with only Zimbabwe faring poorer in the Powerplay. Under new head coach Mike Hesson, the one noticeable aspect has been Pakistan's renewed intent in the batting department and that could also be a reason behind losing more wickets in the Powerplay. However, this data shows that the intent needs to strike a balance, especially on surfaces where powerhitting may not be straightforward.