MATCH REPORTUnited Arab Emirates (UAE) captain Muhammad Waseem made 55 to set up a seven-wicket win over New Zealand on Saturday (August 19) in Dubai as the hosts levelled the three-match T20 International (T20I) series. This was also UAE's first-ever win in a T20I in Dubai in eight attempts. However, they have won six out of 11 One-Day Internationals (ODI) at the venue.
Set 143 to win after again choosing to bowl first, the UAE lost opener Aryansh Sharma without scoring before Waseem, and Vriitya Aravind (25) steadied the innings. Waseem struck four fours and three sixes in his 29-ball knock, which ended when he skied left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner to extra cover. This marked the Blackcaps' first-ever loss to an associate nation across both white-ball formats.
Asif Khan finished off the job with an unbeaten 48 as he smacked New Zealand skipper Tim Southee for three boundaries in the 16th over to seal a famous victory with 26 balls to spare. Mark Chapman's 63 was the standout contribution in New Zealand's 142 for 8.
Opener Chad Bowes and Jimmy Neesham, who both scored 21, were the only other batters to reach double figures for the tourists. Aayan Khan ripped through New Zealand's top order, the left-arm spinner bowling Santner and Dane Cleaver in successive balls before having Bowes stumped to record figures of 3-20.
New Zealand won the first match of the series by 19 runs on Thursday (August 17). The series finale is at the same venue on Sunday.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 142 for 8 in 20 overs (Mark Chapman 63, James Neesham 21; Aayan Khan 3 for 20) lost to UAE 144 for 3 in 15.4 overs (Muhammad Waseem 55, Asif Khan 48*; Mitchell Santner 1 for 26) by 7 wickets
Player of the match: Aayan Khan
Follow Us