Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz entered record books with his hat-trick in the UAE tri-series final against Afghanistan on Sunday (September 7).
Batting first, Pakistan lost Sahibzada Farhan for a duck in the first over but recovered to stitch regular, if not massive partnerships. Nawaz came out to bat at No.7 in the 12th over at the score of 72-5, and top-scored with 25 off 21 balls, taking Pakistan to a competitive 141-8 in 20 overs.
Mohammad Nawaz becomes third Pakistan bowler to take men's T20I hat-trick
Pakistan went all-out with spin in the powerplay. Abrar Ahmed (two) and Saim Ayub (one) bowled three of the first five overs of Afghanistan's innings. Nawaz became the third spinner to be introduced inside the powerplay when he was given the sixth over.
After conceding just one run off his first four balls, Nawaz trapped Darwish Rasooli lbw off the fifth and got the big wicket of Azmatullah Omarzai immediately after, having him caught behind for a golden duck. He returned for the eighth over with Ibrahim Zadran on strike for the hat-trick ball, and managed to slip it past the batter's outside edge to have him stumped.
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Afghanistan slipped to 32-5, and Nawaz had a hat-trick. It was only the third hat-trick in men's T20Is by a Pakistan bowler. Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Hasnain are the two other who have achieved the feat.
Nawaz wasn't done for the night though. In fact, he wasn't even done for the over. Three balls later, he had Karim Janat trapped lbw for his fourth wicket. The seventh over was a double wicket maiden. Nawaz then got rid of Rashid in the 13th over to have his fifth.
Final, Pakistan vs Afghanistan
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- Ball by ball Over
Ending with figures of 4-1-19-5, Nawaz became just the fifth Pakistan bowler to take a five-wicket haul in men's T20Is, and only the third spinner to do so. He also became the first Pakistan bowler with both a men's T20I five-for and a hat-trick. The best figures by a Pakistan bowler in the format belongs to Sufiyan Muqeem, who took 5-3 against Zimbabwe last year. Incidentally, Muqeem was playing the final against Afghanistan on Sunday, and picked up two wickets for nine runs.
Across all men's T20Is, Nawaz became just the seventh spinner from Full Member teams to take a hat-trick after Rashid Khan, Wanindu Hasaranga, Akila Dananjaya, Ashton Agar, Sikandar Raza, and Michael Bracewell. Among them, only Rashid and Agar went on to convert their hat-tricks into five-wicket hauls like Nawaz.
Full Member spinners with men's T20I hat-tricks
| Player | Match | Venue | Victims |
| Rashid Khan | Afghanistan v Ireland | Dehradun | Kevin O'Brien, George Dockrell, Shane Getkate, Simi Singh |
| Ashton Agar | Australia v South Africa | Johannesburg | Faf du Plessis, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dale Steyn |
| Akila Dananjaya | Sri Lanka v West Indies | Antigua | Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | Sri Lanka v South Africa | Sharjah | Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, Dwaine Pretorius |
| Michael Bracewell | New Zealand v Ireland | Belfast | Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Craig Young |
| Sikandar Raza | Rwanda v Zimbabwe | Windhoek | Muhammad Nadir, Zappy Bimenyimana, Emile Rukiriza |
| Mohammad Nawaz | Pakistan v Afghanistan | Sharjah | Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ibrahim Zadran |
Nawaz's bowling heroics make it easy to overlook his efforts with the bat in the first innings. In fact, he became just the fourth Full Member player to do the double of scoring 25 runs or more and taking five or more wickets in a men's T20I. The last to do so was Australia's Matt Short in a T20I against England in 2024.
Full list of players with 25+ runs and 5+ wickets in a men's T20I
| Player | Runs | Bowling figures | Opposition | Ground | Start Date |
| Mohammad Nawaz (PAK) | 25 | 5-19 | v Afghanistan | Sharjah | 7 Sep 2025 |
| Matt Short (AUS) | 28 | 5-22 | v England | Cardiff | 13 Sep 2024 |
| Shakib Al Hasan (BAN) | 38* | 5-22 | v Ireland | Chattogram | 29 Mar 2023 |
| Karim Janat (AFG) | 26 | 5-11 | v West Indies | Lucknow | 16 Nov 2019 |
| Shakib Al Hasan (BAN) | 42* | 5-20 | v West Indies | Mirpur | 20 Dec 2018 |
