Asia Cup 2025: Salman Ali Agha takes blinder in PAK vs OMA clash

Superb catch by Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha. Diving left, with great reflexes, he took an absolute blinder at first slip during their first Asia Cup 2025 match against Oman on Friday at Dubai International Stadium. 

Oman surprised every cricket fan when they dismissed Saim Ayub for a golden duck in the first over of the first innings. During the middle overs, 43-year-old Aamir Kaleem was on the verge of taking a hat-trick. Overall, Oman did well with their bowling part. But they struggled against Pakistan's quality bowling. Failing to create a significant partnership while chasing a target of 161 in 20 overs, their batting lineup collapsed like a house of cards. Ahead of the India match on September 14, Pakistan registered a much-needed win with a dominating bowling performance. Agha used six bowlers against Oman, and each bowler proved effective. 

Agha failed to impress with the bat as he went to the dugout with a golden duck after falling short against Oman veteran Aamir Kaleem. But during the run defense, he reacted in an accurate way. With a diving effort he confirmed the dismissal of Oman's best batter of the night. 

Read More: [WATCH] PAK vs OMA, Asia Cup 2025: Golden Duck for Saim Ayub, Oman stunned Pakistan early

Salman Ali Agha at slip took an outdated catch:

Hammad Mirza was the only batter who was looking confident against the Pakistani bowling attack. When one after another Oman batters came and went, Mirza somehow was able to stick on a side of the track. Against 23 deliveries, he scored 27, powered by 3 boundaries and one over boundary. Sufiyan Muqeem delivered a googly full and around off, almost out of reach of the batter. Mirza went down for a sweep shot, but in the end, he produced a top edge towards the first slip, where Agha was waiting for his moment to shine. With quick reflexes, he dived left and grabbed the ball cleanly. 

Pakistan, batting first, scored 160 runs in 20 overs against 7 wickets. Mohammad Haris played a timely 66-run knock to guide his team towards a competitive total. Unlike the bowling, Oman found no match in front of Pakistan's bowling performance. Pakistan won the match by 93 runs, as Oman lost all ten wickets in 16.4 overs for only 67 runs.