UAE suffer narrow T20 World Cup defeat to Afghanistan

The UAE suffered a narrow five-wicket defeat to Afghanistan in Group D on Monday to leave their hopes of reaching the Super Eight stage of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup hanging by a thread.

With just two points and one win to their name so far, UAE head into their final group game against an already-qualified South Africa on Wednesday knowing they must win and ensure their net run-rate is superior to both New Zealand and Afghanistan to reach the knock-outs.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's first victory of the competition must now be followed up by beating Canada on Thursday to keep alive their own chances.

The outcome sent group leaders South Africa, who have six points from three games, into the Super Eight alongside defending champions India and two-time winners West Indies.

New Zealand, with four points ahead of their final group match against bottom-placed Canada on Tuesday, look primed to claim the second Super Eight spot from Group D.

Afghanistan's Rashid Khan became the first bowler to claim his 700th T20 wicket as UAE were restricted to 160-9 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

It was a lead they were unable to hold onto with Azmatullah Omarzai hitting an unbeaten 40 off 21 balls with the bat to claim a vital victory with four balls to spare.

Sohaib Khan struck six fours and four sixes as he top-scored for UAE with a 48-ball 68 while Alishan Sharafu chipped in with 40 off 31 balls.

UAE captain Muhammad Waseem praised his team for "fighting well" but admitted they gave away too many boundaries and lost too many early wickets to see out the result.

Afghanistan skipper Khan added: "Always important to have a win at the World Cup and let's hope for the best in the rest of the competition. 

"We still have a little bit of hope that we can make it to the next stage. We just need to come up with a positive mindset.

"Even if we don't make it to the next round, we want to play with the same brand of cricket and make our nation proud."