UAE captain Muhammad Waseem scored his 24th T20I half-century during their Asia Cup clash against Oman on Monday (September 15), also getting closer to Rohit Sharma on the list of most T20I sixes in the process.
Put in to bat first by Oman, UAE put up a solid opening partnership of 88 in 11 overs. Alishan Sharafu raced to 31 off 22 balls by the end of the sixth over as UAE reached 50-0. Captain Waseem had a comparatively sedate start, reaching 16 off 14.
Sharafu then reached his fifty off 37 balls in the 11th over, but fell next ball. Waseem, batting on 34 off 28, took over the charge, taking 13 more balls to get to his half-century. He reached the milestone in style, hitting Samay Shrivastava for six in the 15th over. Waseem did not get much strike in the death overs, hitting a four and a six in the last 13 balls he faced before being run out for 69 off 54 in the last over.
UAE finished on 172-5 in 20 overs and ran through the Oman top order in the second innings, reducing them to 32-4 and 50-5 in the seventh over. Oman never recovered from the early setbacks, and were bowled out for 130, losing the match by 42 runs.
Match 7, United Arab Emirates vs Oman
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Muhammad Waseem inches closer to Rohit Sharma
Waseem hit three sixes and six fours in his knock. A veteran of the format, Waseem has played 84 T20Is and is already second on the list of most sixes in men's T20Is, behind Rohit Sharma. In this game, he took his tally from 180 to 183. Another 23 hits over the fence and the UAE captain will become the world record holder.
Also read: World record: UAE’s Muhammad Waseem becomes first batter to hit 100 sixes in a calendar year
Rohit's 205 sixes came in 151 innings, a rate of 1.35 sixes per innings. Martin Guptill, third on the list behind Waseem, hit 1.46 sixes per knock (173 in 118). Waseem's six-hitting rate of 2.17, however, eclipses both of them by a fair margin.
In fact, the UAE skipper's career record is a phenomenal one on all counts. He averages 38.10 while striking at 154 and has scored 3,010 runs: he also went past the 3,000 mark during his fifty against Oman. Among the 10 players with more T20I runs than Waseem, none have both a higher average and a better strike rate.
Also read: Best T20I batter ever? UAE opener Muhammad Waseem has a statistical claim to the title
Most sixes in men's T20Is
*Stats accurate till Asia Cup 2025, Match 7
| Player | 6s | Inns | Runs | Ave | SR | 100 | 50 |
| Rohit Sharma (IND) | 205 | 151 | 4231 | 32.05 | 141 | 5 | 32 |
| Muhammad Waseem (UAE) | 183 | 84 | 3010 | 38.1 | 154 | 3 | 24 |
| Martin Guptill (NZ) | 173 | 118 | 3531 | 31.81 | 136 | 2 | 20 |
| Jos Buttler (ENG) | 170 | 128 | 3808 | 36.26 | 149 | 1 | 28 |
| Nicholas Pooran (WI) | 149 | 97 | 2275 | 26.14 | 136 | 0 | 13 |
| Glenn Maxwell (AUS) | 148 | 114 | 2833 | 29.51 | 156 | 5 | 12 |
| Suryakumar Yadav (IND) | 148 | 81 | 2652 | 39 | 166 | 4 | 21 |
| Babar Hayat (HKG) | 140 | 94 | 2273 | 28.06 | 130 | 2 | 12 |
| Syed Aziz (MAS) | 139 | 105 | 2680 | 30.45 | 143 | 1 | 18 |
| Evin Lewis (WI) | 136 | 64 | 1782 | 29.7 | 154 | 2 | 13 |
| David Miller (SA/World XI) | 130 | 114 | 2591 | 33.21 | 141 | 2 | 8 |
