DUBAI: Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha has expressed confidence in his side’s ability to challenge any team after sealing a place in the Super Four stage of the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025.

The qualification came after a tense day of uncertainty, and Pakistan finally stepped onto the field at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium for their last group match against the United Arab Emirates. 

They put in a strong all-round performance to beat the UAE by 41 runs and secure their spot in the next round of the eight-team event.

Put into bat first, the Green Shirts needed a swashbuckling cameo from their number nine batter, Shaheen Shah Afridi, after Fakhar Zaman’s half-century up the order, to accumulate a decent total of 146/9 in 20 overs.

Following Zaman’s dismissal in the 14th over, Pakistan lost wickets at an alarming rate and had slipped to 110/7 in 16.5 overs until Shaheen forced recovery with an unbeaten 29 off just 14 deliveries with the help of three fours and two sixes.

Although the total ultimately proved sufficient for their bowlers to defend, Pakistan captain Agha reiterated their struggles with the bat, especially in the middle overs.

The all-rounder asserted that they are yet to bat at their best, with which they can breach the 170-run barrier regardless of the opposition.

“We got the job done, but we still need to improve our batting in the middle order. That’s been a concern and something we need to work on,” said Agha.

“Apart from that, we did a good job. We haven’t batted at our best yet…we’re still just finding our way to 150. If we bat well in the middle overs, we can push it to 170 no matter the opposition,” he added.

Agha then lauded left-arm pacer Shaheen for his batting exploits and credited top-order batter Saim Ayub for chipping in crucial stages of the game with the ball.

“Shaheen’s batting has improved a lot–he’s already great with the ball. Saim is someone who has been bringing us back into games, and I hope he can continue like this till the end,” Agha continued.

When asked about the Super Four challenge, Agha expressed his team’s readiness, stating that they can compete with any opposition.

“We’re ready for any challenge, and if we keep playing the way we have over the last four months, we’ll be good against any side.”

Hadden Kelly, a 17-year-old high school golfer, died in Georgia Monday after suddenly collapsing in a yard, Dodge County Coroner Joe Smith confirmed this week. 

Smith told WGXA News that Kelly, his great-nephew, was participating in “homecoming activities” at a residence alongside his friend when he collapsed in the yard. Kelly was unresponsive and later pronounced dead at the scene. 

Smith added Kelly’s body was sent for an autopsy to determine his cause of death.

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“Hadden was an outgoing kid, and he never met a stranger,” Smith told the station. 

Kelly was an avid golfer who worked at Dodge County Golf Club, and was a member of Dodge County High School’s golf team. The school’s golf coach, Paula Selph, and the team shared a message following Kelly’s death on the school’s Facebook page. 

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“Hadden LOVED golf and the Golf Team surely loves Hadden,” the post read. “Hadden was our team leader, always encouraging and forever speaking positive words to all around him. He so hoped that our golf team would keep improving and desperately sought after participating in the State tournament. He was our top performing golfer and always finished earlier than most of his teammates. He ALWAYS stayed till each team member finished. He could have left as most of the time he finished first against the competition. It wasn’t about him. He stayed to support his team. He wanted the team to succeed! 

“What a witness to his character! We love Hadden and we love his family! Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family. Let’s take this example of selflessness into our own lives and little by little make the world a better place!

Hadden Kelly, a 17-year-old high school golfer in Georgia, was described as someone who “never met a stranger” by those mourning his sudden death.  (Dodge County High School)

Smith also spoke about Kelly’s love for the game of golf. 

“He played every day, and I believe if that were something he wanted to do, he would have gone pro because he was that good.”

Dodge County High School also released its own statement on Facebook. 

Hadden Kelly, a 17-year-old from Dodge County High School in Georgia, poses with a golf club.  (Dodge County High School/Facebook)

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“There are no words to express the sadness that our DCHS family feels for the loss of junior Hadden Kelly. Please join us in prayer for his family, friends, and our DCHS Family. ‘’Gone from our sight, but never from our hearts.”

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Lamine Yamal has been ruled out of Barcelona’s Champions League opener against Newcastle United on Thursday after failing to recover from a groin injury in time.

Yamal, 18, went into the international break last week managing some pain and took painkillers to feature in Spain’s World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and Turkey.

He was subsequently forced to miss Barça’s 6-0 LaLiga win against Valencia last weekend and has not trained this week.

As a result, he has not been named in the squad which flies to Newcastle on Wednesday.

“For me, it’s a shame he’s not playing,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said a news conference on Wednesday. “I’m disappointed that we don’t get to see him at his best playing in the game.”

Midfielder Gavi and left-back Alejandro Balde are also missing with injuries, but Frenkie de Jong has been cleared to return to action.

Yamal’s injury has been a cause for contention between Barça and Spain, with club coach Hansi Flick accusing La Roja of failing to take care of their young players.

Yamal had started the season well, scoring two goals and setting up two more in the opening three LaLiga games.

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He also assisted three goals during his two Spain appearances last week.

With Yamal missing, Flick is likely to pick three from four of Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski, Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford to start in attack at St. James’ Park this week.

“Whoever they play, they’ve got real pace in wide areas, we know that,” Howe added. “They’ve got international players that will challenge us in different ways, so I think structurally our team performance has got to be really strong, we’ve got to defend well in wide areas, so we’re looking forward to that battle.”

After reaching the semifinal last season, where they lost to Inter Milan, Spanish champions Barça are eyeing a first Champions League trophy since 2015 this year.

Information from PA was used in this report.