New Zealand bag T20I series against spirited UAE side

UAE can hold their heads high as they took the fight to New Zealand in all three T20I matches. Their fans will hope that the team can go from strength to strength after this noteworthy performance. After falling short by just 19 runs in the first T20I, the UAE players came back strongly to register a historic seven-wicket win in the second T20I to set the series up for an intriguing finish.

Muhammad Waseem won the toss for the third time in a row in the final T20I at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and had no hesitation in inviting New Zealand to bat first. The openers, Chad Bowes and Tim Seifert failed to go big. Following, half-centuries Will Young and Mark Chapman helped the visitors get to a stable base. The UAE bowlers pulled things back commendably in the death overs. But, Mitchell Santner played a fine cameo of 20* in 11 balls. Fast bowler Junaid Siddique was the star of the show as he finished with figures of 3/26.

UAE fell short by 32 runs on a tricky pitch

Chasing a challenging target of 167 on a tricky pitch, the hosts couldn’t make good use of the Powerplay. In the first six overs, the UAE could only muster 40 runs for the loss of two wickets. The heroes of the second T20I, Muhammad Waseem and Asif Khan departed for eight and 11, respectively. After being in all sorts of trouble at 53/5, the home side managed to show some fight. Thanks to a 68-run partnership between Basil Hameed and Aayan Afzal Khan.

Eventually, disciplined bowling from New Zealand, headlined by Ben Lister, who finished with a three-for, helped them win the match by 32 runs and take the series 2-1. Will Young was awarded Player of the Match for his 46-ball 56 while Mark Chapman took the Player of the Series award for finishing as the highest run-getter (129) across the three games.