Chennai, Feb 10 (.) United Arab Emirates (UAE) skipper Muhammad Waseem won the toss
and decided to bat first in its first Group D T20 World Cup match at the M A Chidambaram
Stadium here on Tuesday.
Kiwis have retained the same team that defeated Afghanistan the other day here to start its
campaign on a winning note in this Group of Death which also ha another strong contender
South Africa making the race for two Super 8 spots from this group more engrossing.
The Kiwis retained the same team that recorded a five wicket win over Afghans and would be
keen to consolidate its position in the points table by registering its second win today.
Speking after winning the toss, Waseem said will be same wicket for both innings. We also
want to show the world how we play. Inshallah we will play excellent cricket. It’s a tough group
but we are ready for that challenge. We came here with a different mindset. We will go game
by game, and think next for the upcoming games.
On his form, Waseem said the confidence is good, but a different venue, different tournament.
Will try to lead the team from the front.
New Zeland skipper Mitchell Santner said “Looks like a good wicket. We have the same team.
This is red soil, might be some bounce, but looks like a pretty good wicket to me. These days
you have to watch a lot of video. In between games, looking at footage and some stuff was it
for us.”
UAE on the other hand, are a team on the rise, having enjoyed some recent success against
full member nations ahead of this tournament.
Back on the World Cup stage for the third time, they will be hoping to add to their sole previous
win in the competition, beating Namibia back in 2022.
Muhammad Waseem scored a fifty that day and will have the hopes of the nation resting on his
shoulders as the team’s outstanding batter.
He starred in the surprise series win over Bangladesh last May, while Haider Ali was outstanding
with the ball. Junaid Siddique is one of just three survivors from the 2022 squad, and the UAE
will hope that they can overcome that relative lack of experience compared to their group rivals.
UAE have the element of surprise up their sleeve as only six players in the New Zealand squad
have faced UAE in a T20I before. One of the players they will come up against is let arm spinner
Haider Ali who has gone from broken dreams of playing for Pakistan to being a frontman of the
UAE bowling attack.
UAE might have won just one of the six matches they have played in the World Cup so far, but
recent run-ins with big teams at the Asia Cup – and a 2023 win against New Zealand to boot –
prove they will be tough competition to face.
Especially on a Chennai pitch that is expected to spin and grip as the match goes on under the
afternoon sun.
The Teams :
UAE:
Aryansh Sharma (wk), Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Mayank Kumar, Sohaib Khan,
Harshit Kaushik, Muhammad Arfan, Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad
Rohid.
New Zealand:
Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Jimmy Neesham,
Mitchell Santner (capt), Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy.
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