What a fantastic final match of the group stage and I got my wish: it went down to the final over! The tension was high, with both teams refusing to give an inch. Eventually, Afghanistan held their nerve and their spinners managed to bring the innings to a near standstill during the middle overs which caused the asking rate to balloon. But this defeat will sting for UAE, as they had a real chance to cross the line. It came down to fine margins. Asif Khan raced to 40 off 28 balls but had too much to do in the final over. Perhaps he could have trusted his batting partner to share the load--though it's easy to nitpick in hindsight. After all, he was the one who navigated through choppy waters and brought UAE to a commanding position. Earlier, Gurbaz and Zadran laid the foundation for a par score, with decent contributions from the lower order helping Afghanistan post a competitive total. The spinners from both sides were on top of their game. That's all from this enthralling contest. We'll see you on Sunday for the final between Pakistan and Afghanistan. For now, it's goodbye and goodnight from me, Rvel Zahid, and my scoring partner Sudeep Poojar.

Muhammad Wasim, UAE Captain: It was a good game, tough luck for us. As I said at the toss, we're going close to the line but not crossing it. We'll take all the positives from this series and, inshallah, apply them in the Asia Cup. Haider Ali is actually bowling well. He's a good bowler with experience and I believe he can do even better in the Asia Cup. We'll keep learning, especially in areas like death bowling and fielding.

Ibrahim Zadran, Afghanistan Captain: It was a good win to finish the group stage. We wanted to give a chance to the guys who didn't get one in the previous game. UAE were playing well and looked like they might win but credit to our bowlers for (pulling it back). When you look at the conditions, you have to take responsibility and back your skills. I just go out there, enjoy myself, and give my 100 percent Thankfully, I got the result today. It's been a good series. Now we're set to play Pakistan. We'll prepare for the Asia Cup and go in with high energy and intensity.

Ashish: "8 on 10 times when a batter thinks they can get away without running, they rue it in the end. The 2 dots cost UAE dearly!"

Samimullah: "And that is that, what a comeback from Malik three dots on the trot."

Hans: "Lack of experience cost the UAE team a must-win match to lose. Extras in the bowling inning, too many dot balls, less strike rotation, and fewer 2s "

Manoj: "Why cant you run a bye man? This is stupid !!"

Zahir Habibi : "Ooh Farid, you are my nightmare "

usman: "in my opinion in sstead of playing bilateral series.. top teams should play tri series with 1 associate team... it ll help game grow"

Stiff task, something around 12 would have been do-able but I feel UAE have left too many runs for the last six deliveries