The United Arab Emirates (UAE) thwarted Japan's chance of making history by taking the last place for next year's ICC Men's T20 World Cup through a dominant victory with eight wickets in the regional qualifier that took place in Oman.
Japan were so close to their first invitation to a major ICC event, but the UAE's disciplined bowling effort pushed them to a mere 116 for nine and then to a quick victory by 12.1 overs.
Thus, the UAE will join Oman and Nepal as the teams moving on to the World Cup, which is set for February and March of 2026 in India and Sri Lanka, from the Asia and East Asia-Pacific qualifiers.
The two host nations, together with England, Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, South Africa, the USA, and the West Indies, were the first to get in automatically by going through the Super 8 round of the 2024 edition. Of the remaining teams, Ireland, Pakistan, and New Zealand entered through ICC rankings, while Canada, Italy, Netherlands, Namibia, and Zimbabwe were the winners of regional qualifiers.
Japan had beaten Kuwait and Samoa earlier and were in a must win situation against UAE to qualify on net run rate. But their hopes were short lived as they collapsed to 58 for 8 with spinner Haider Ali taking 3 for 20. A fighting 45 from Wataru Miyauchi took Japan to 116 but it was never enough.
UAE openers Alishan Sharafu and Muhammad Waseem put on a 70 run partnership, scoring 46 and 42 respectively. Both got out before the end but the experienced side who had played in 2014 and 2022 cruised to another World Cup appearance.
