Asia Cup 2025: Pakistan bowlers dismantle Oman as batting jitters linger before India clash

Pakistan bowlers flatten Oman, but batting questions refuse to go away

Pakistan crushed Oman by 93 runs in Dubai and walked off with a win that looked bigger than the performance felt. The bowling was ruthless. The batting, not so much. On a cracked surface that rewarded control more than bravado, Pakistan posted 160 for 7, thanks to Mohammad Haris’ crisp 66 off 43. Then the bowlers smothered Oman for 67—the associate side’s second-lowest T20I total—making the result look one-sided. Two days from a marquee date with India, that split-screen story matters.

Captain Salman Agha won the toss and batted, a call that made sense on a pitch that would likely slow down. Pakistan got the early wobble out of the way when Saim Ayub fell inside the powerplay, and the innings could’ve drifted. It didn’t, because Haris, restored to his preferred No. 3, played with intent and range. He found gaps square of the wicket, picked his moments to go aerial, and turned even good-length balls into scoring options. Seven fours, three sixes, and a tempo that made everyone else look stuck in second gear.

Sahibzada Farhan offered calm alongside him, rotating strike and letting Haris attack. But once Haris fell, the old issue crept back in: Pakistan’s middle overs tightened up. Oman's left-arm spin and canny seamers forced dots and dragged batters into awkward strokes. Aamir Kaleem and Shah Faisal were excellent at the change of pace, disguising the slower ball and keeping the stumps in play. They split six wickets between them and squeezed the finish, limiting Pakistan to a total that felt 10–15 light for a ground where straight boundaries invite risk.

That’s the rub. Pakistan won big, yet left the door open for questions. The middle order didn’t kick on once the platform was set. The hitting was streaky. The late-overs method looked unclear—who owns the finishing role when the ball gets older and the pitch grips? Against Oman, fine. Against India, that margin for error shrinks fast.

Still, once the break came, Pakistan’s bowlers erased any doubt. Shaheen Afridi set the tone without overreaching, hitting that nagging length and conceding just 20 in his spell with one wicket. Faheem Ashraf added control through the middle and picked up two, varying his angles and back-of-length deliveries. But it was the spin that broke Oman’s chase and their belief—Sufiyan Muqeem and Saim Ayub took two each, and the surface did the rest.

Muqeem found sharp drift and drop, making Oman’s batters play against the turn. Saim, used smartly as a matchup option, took pace off and attacked the stumps. Abrar Ahmed sealed it with the last wicket, a fitting end to a night where Pakistan’s slow bowlers owned the rhythm. Oman could not counter the strangling line—singles dried up, lofted shots became lottery tickets, and wickets fell in clusters.

Oman’s chase never breathed. A wicket in the second over set the tone, and while Hammad Mirza fought for 27 and Aamir Kaleem briefly held the line, there was no real partnership to stretch the game. Shakeel Ahmed’s 10 came late and went quickly. This was game management by Pakistan—disciplined fields, sharp throwing from the deep, and no freebies at the death.

For Haris, named Player of the Match, the innings was a statement with caveats. He admitted the surface looked flat but played trickier than it seemed, and he talked about batting where the team needs him. Fair enough. The bigger takeaway is his tempo at No. 3. Pakistan’s order often drifts when set batters get out; when Haris accelerates in that slot, the side looks balanced. The challenge is building insurance around him so one wicket doesn’t flip the script.

Oman leave with mixed feelings. With the ball, they were brave and disciplined. Kaleem and Faisal earned their numbers and made quality batters second-guess stroke play. With the bat, they were exposed by spin and smarts. Their second-lowest total won’t define them, but it does show the gap in tempo and skill when the conditions don’t offer skimming pace. Against bigger teams, dot-ball pressure almost always turns into collapse.

Pakistan’s camp, meanwhile, can point to the best thing you can take from an opener: clarity about what still needs work. The bowling plans held up—new ball, middle overs, and close-out all had depth. The batting needs sharper roles. The top order must protect the powerplay. The middle must absorb the slow overs without surrendering scoring intent. And the finishing plan needs a designated driver, not a committee.

• Result: Pakistan beat Oman by 93 runs
• Pakistan: 160/7 (Mohammad Haris 66 off 43)
• Oman: 67 all out (Hammad Mirza 27 top-scored)
• Pakistan bowlers: Sufiyan Muqeem 2 wickets, Saim Ayub 2, Faheem Ashraf 2, Shaheen Afridi 1; Abrar Ahmed finished it
• Oman bowlers: Aamir Kaleem 3 wickets, Shah Faisal 3

There were tactical crumbs worth noting too. Pakistan leaned into spin as soon as the ball softened. The fielders were busy and tidy—no dragged shoulders, no lapses that gift momentum. The captain managed his options with a cold eye for matchups, turning to Saim when a left-hander walked in and keeping Shaheen back long enough to keep a lid on any late tilt. In short, they practiced the kind of control you need in a tournament where net run rate can bite.

And the net run rate does matter. A 93-run margin offers air in the group table, which often ends up as a tiebreaker when favorites jostle at the top. Win big against an associate, and you buy yourself cover for a tight game later. Pakistan did exactly that.

What this win means before Pakistan vs India

The headline is simple: Pakistan have a bowling attack that can win them this tournament, but the batting unit still needs glue. That’s the equation heading into Sunday. India brushed aside UAE in their opener and will bring more pace, more discipline, and more depth than Oman. Pakistan will have fewer freebies to work with. The first six overs become a trade: how many wickets can you keep in hand while still getting ahead of the rate?

Selection-wise, the temptation will be to keep Haris at No. 3 and build around him. The top needs a clean base. The middle needs a plan against slow bowling that doesn’t turn into a freeze. Pakistan can shuffle strike with sweeps and dabs, but they’ll also need one batter ready to take a risk every over—one boundary every six balls stops the squeeze before it starts.

Another lever: the finisher. On slower pitches, power alone doesn’t win the last five. Batters who can hit to long-on and long-off, then go square when the bowler changes pace, are gold. If Pakistan can earmark that job clearly—whether it’s a seam-bowling all-rounder or a middle-order aggressor—they’ll protect themselves from the late-innings stall we saw today.

The bowling plan writes itself. Start tight, push spin early if the surface mirrors Friday’s, and trust the slow men to keep India’s stroke-makers guessing. Pakistan’s fielding energy in Dubai was a quiet win—cutting off twos, honest relay throws, not gifting extra runs. Those little wins flip chases under lights. If the dew shows up, pace off and wider lines at the death become the safer play.

The venue matters too. Dubai has mood swings. New-ball skids can tease batters into loose drives. As the game drags, the ball grips and spinners turn contests into math problems. Pakistan read that beat perfectly against Oman. If Sunday offers similar cues, they’ll want to stick with the same sequencing and avoid burning through pace early.

There’s also the psychological layer. A thumping win soothes nerves but doesn’t erase them. Pakistan have seen this movie before—start strong, then hit a batting speed bump when the heat rises. The task now is to bottle the bowling confidence and build a batting method that survives a couple of quick wickets. That’s what beats elite attacks: patience without passivity.

For Oman, there’s learning here. Their bowling plans translate against mid-tier teams. Their batting will need a more assertive template in the powerplay to relieve pressure later. Associate sides don’t get many warm-ups against attacks this varied; nights like these, harsh as they feel, add layers they can use when it really counts.

On balance, Pakistan couldn’t have asked for a better start in terms of margin and momentum. Haris found form at the right slot. The spinners tasted the pitch and took it apart. The quicks kept their egos in check and bowled to fields. Now comes the real test—handling the pressure of a derby and holding their nerve when overs 7 to 15 turn into a chess match.

Call it the two-checklist rule for Pakistan before Sunday: lock in the top-three sequence and define the finisher, then let the bowling unit do what it already does well. If they tick those boxes, the result against Oman becomes more than a big win—it becomes a blueprint.

For the tournament narrative, this result slots neatly into the early picture. The favorites have arrived, the bowling looks ahead of the batting, and the surfaces are asking smarter questions than raw power can answer. In that kind of competition, decision-making wins as much as skill. Pakistan took a step in the right direction.

And yes, context matters. The 93-run gap brings a cushion in the table. It also buys time—time for batters to settle roles, for coaches to tweak plans, and for a squad to settle into the rhythm of a campaign. With India up next, the room for error is smaller, but the path is clear. Pakistan know exactly what they need to fix, and what they must protect.

Friday was a reminder of why this tournament pulls eyes every year: even the simple scorelines hide layers. Pakistan’s win had both sides of the story—a batting wobble they can’t ignore and a bowling show that can carry them a long way. Come Sunday, we’ll find out which half writes the next chapter of the Asia Cup 2025.