Tim Seifert and Finn Allen put on a spectacular show as they put on a world record stand of 175 runs inside 16 overs as New Zealand thrashed UAE by 10 wickets. Tim Seifert and Finn Allen were like rampaging rivers simply unstoppable as the UAE pacers were torn apart from all quarters. UAE opted to bat first and on the back of unbeaten half-century from captain Muhammad Waseem who made 66 and carried his bat while Alishan Sharafu made 55 off 47 balls while Mayank Chowdary made 21 off 13 balls as UAE posted 173/6 in 20 overs.
In reply, it was Tim Seifert and Finn Allen show as the duo blazed away in Chennai with an unbroken 175-run stand in 15.2 overs with Seifert scoring 89 off 42 balls while Finn Allen made 84 off 50 balls as both were unbeaten out in the middle. No wickets to show for UAE to show for and they were blown away.
Muhammad Waseem & Alishan Sharafu’s excellent fifties enables UAE post a competitive 173/6
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, keeper batter Aryansh Sharma and captain Muhammad Waseem came out to bat for UAE while Matt Henry had ball in hand for New Zealand. UAE got off to a decent start as the openers put on 12 for the first wicket before Sharma fell for 8 off 6 balls with 2 fours to his name to Jacob Duffy. That brought Alishan Sharafu to the crease. From here, there was no looking back for UAE as Sharafu and Waseem combined well for UAE.
The duo took their team to 50/1 in 6 overs at the end of the powerplay as the UAE team was off to a fantastic start. They carried on beyond that and aced the middle phase of the game as well. New Zealand to their credit kept things tight but failed to get the breakthroughs. Both players completed their respective half-centuries. The duo put on 107 for the second wicket before Sharafu fell in the 15th over for 55 off 47 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes to his name to captain Mitchell Santner. Harshit Kaushik came out to bat next.
Kaushik did not last long as only 5 runs were added to the tally before Kaushik fell for 2 off 6 balls to Glenn Phillips. Mayank Chowdary came to the crease next to join his skipper with 4 overs left in the innings. Mayank was off and running and Waseem played his game as an over of Glenn Phillips which was the 18th over went for 27 runs to give UAE some momentum. The duo put on 40 runs for the 4th wicket in quick time before Mayank fell for 21 off 13 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Lockie Ferguson.
Sohaib Khan came out to bat next. He too got going as an over was left in the innings and hit a maximum. Sohaib and Waseem added 9 runs to the tally before Sohaib fell off the second last ball of the over and innings for 7 off 3 balls with one six to his name. Muhammad Arfan came out to bat next and fell going for the big one first ball to Matt Henry as he had two wickets in two balls to end the innings.
Waseem carried his bat and remained unbeaten on 66 off 45 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes to his name as UAE finished with 173/6 in 20 overs. 14 extras given by the fielding side. The New Zealand bowlers bowled decently on a good pitch. Matt Henry finished with 2/37 in 4 overs. Jacob Duffy finished with 1/16 in 2 overs. Lockie Ferguson finished with 1/35 in 4 overs. Mitchell Santner was miserly with 1/23 in 4 overs.
Glenn Phillips finished with 1/30 in 2 overs. Rachin Ravindra finished with 0/19 in 3 overs. Jimmy Neesham finished with 0/7 in 1 over. It meant that New Zealand needed 174 runs to win off 20 overs to make it 2 wins out of 2 games.
Tim Seifert & Finn Allen powers New Zealand past the finishing line in 15.2 overs with 10 wickets in hand
Chasing 174 for the win, Tim Seifert and Finn Allen came to open the batting for New Zealand while Haider Ali had ball in hand for UAE. Haider started well and kept things under check. But then began the carnage from the New Zealand openers and it was something to behold as the UAE pacers went the distance in more ways than one. Rohid Khan came and got hammered and so was Junaid Siddique their leading spearhead. They just dominated the powerplay.
They scored 78/0 in 6 overs of powerplay and after this it was no looking back. They just did not let the intensity up and just clobbered the UAE bowlers as whoever came their way got hammered. Even Haider went for a few towards the end but he at least had respectable figures. The others, the less said the better as every over went for 10 and more and some humongous. Both completed their half-centuries and were in no intent to stop at all. They raced past 100 in 9 overs and then it was a matter of time. The question became not if but when they will get the target.
UAE did not know what to answer and the fielding was decent but the wheels had come off now. The duo just carried on and played for the team and not individual milestones. By the time UAE got their lines and lengths right, it was too late for them and they did not even get a wicket as a consolation.
The duo completed great run chase by acing the middle phase and completing a record opening stand for the first wicket against any team in T20 World Cup cricket. The previous best was 170 by England’s Jos Buttler and Alex Hales vs India in Adelaide, Semi-final 2 in the World Cup. But Seifert and Allen surpassed that comfortably. Seifert remained unbeaten on 89 off 42 balls with 12 fours and 3 sixes to his name while Finn Allen was unbeaten on 84 off 50 balls with 5 fours and 5 sixes to his name. New Zealand got to the target in 15.2 overs with 10 wickets in hand.
Haider Ali was the only bowler who kept things tight as he gave away 27 runs in 4 overs. The rest of them went for runs. Muhammad Rohid Khan went for 51 in 3.2 overs. Junaid Siddique gave 47 runs in 4 overs. Dhruv Parashar gave away 14 runs in 1 over. Mohammad Arfan gave away 36 runs in 3 overs. So, New Zealand thrash UAE by 10 wickets with 28 balls to spare. Tim Seifert was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead
So, New Zealand make it 2 wins out of 2 games with this win and will go with lot of confidence into their next game against South Africa on Saturday night in Ahmedabad. UAE will next face Canada in New Delhi. More action to come in ICC T20 WC 2026 where Pakistan will face USA in Group A clash at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo in a first night game at the venue.
More action to come as the World Cup action keeps on going.
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