In the first T20I between the two teams on Friday, March 24, Mohammad Nabi's all-around excellence with both bat and ball enabled Afghanistan to record their first-ever victory over Pakistan in international cricket. In a low-scoring contest at the Sharjah Cricket stadium, Nabi picked up two wickets and was not out on 38 as the all-rounder led his side to a six-wicket victory.

Pakistan chose to play first after winning the toss for the day. They got off to a slow and steady start, but Pakistan's squad began to crumble when Mohammad Haris was dismissed. Fazal Farooqi and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman barely conceded any runs as Pakistan's wickets continued to fall from 17-1 to 65-7 at the other end. Imad Wasim led Pakistan in scoring with 18 runs off 32 deliveries.

Faheem Ashraf and Naseem Shah were taken out by Nabi, who finished with scores of 13 for two. After that, Zaman Khan and Ihsanullah made sure Pakistan didn't get bowled out and used all of their allotted overs to score 92 runs for the loss of nine wickets in 20 overs. The Afghanistan innings didn't get off to the best of starts with a target of 93 to pursue after Ihsanullah quickly dismissed Ibrahim Zadran and Gulbadin Naib, leaving them reeling at 23 for two.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Karim Janat also lost their wickets without contributing significantly, leaving Afghanistan at 48 for 4 after 9.4 overs. Nabi would then intervene and forge an important alliance with Najibullah Zadran, ensuring that Afghanistan returned home without incident that day. Afghanistan reached the goal in 17.5 overs thanks to Nabi's 38 runs off just as many balls and Najibullah's 17 runs.