The spearhead of UAE attack Junaid Siddique led from the front with his 5-wicket haul to keep Canada down to 150/7 in 20 overs. Junaid Siddique had a point to prove to everyone and he led the attack from the front. He was the standout bowler while Muhammad Jawadullah picked up one wicket and bowled well. For Canada, Harsh Thaker held the innings together with a half-century while Navneet Dhaliwal pitched in with 34 and Shreyas Movva with 21 as Canada managed to reach a competitive 150/7. The match can go either way from this position.
UAE strikes thrice to peg Canada back in the powerplay overs.Â
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Yuvraj Samra and captain Dilpreet Bajwa opened the batting for Canada while Haider Ali had ball in hand for UAE. Bajwa got off the mark with a cut shot through the covers for a boundary. Junaid Siddique shared the new ball from the other end. Bajwa dealt with the bad ball as he drove it through the covers for a boundary. Siddique had the first breakthrough for UAE as he dismissed Bajwa for 11 off 11 balls with 2 fours to his name as the ball was taken by Waseem at mid-off.
Navneet Dhaliwal came out to bat next. Haider continued as Yuvraj was dropped as Waseem dropped a tough one-hander at mid-off region. Siddique continued as he got another wicket by dismissing Yuvraj for 5 off 5 balls as the ball went to the mid-on fielder with Sharafu taking the catch. Nicholas Kirton came out to bat next. He got off the mark as well. Dhaliwal cut the ball in front of point for a boundary.
Muhammad Arfan came into the attack next. Dhaliwal smashed the ball uppishly through the covers for a boundary. Muhammad Jawadullah came into the attack to bowl the last over of powerplay and he dismissed Kirton for 4 off 6 balls as the guide down to third man got the outside edge to the keeper. Drinks was taken at this point and after which Harsh Thaker came to bat.
Thaker survived a LBW appeal as the umpire gave it NOT OUT. The review was taken by the fielding side and the ball pitched miles outside the leg stump. The review was lost for UAE. Jawadullah bowled a good last over of powerplay. Canada were 39/3 in 6 overs of powerplay with Dhaliwal unbeaten on 13 off 9 balls and Harsh Thaker unbeaten on 1 off 5 balls.
Navneet Dhaliwal and Harsh Thaker rebuild proceedings for Canada before the former fell to an unfortunate run out in middle phase of the game.Â
Haider Ali returned to the attack as Harsh took on Haider with a cut past the point fielder for a boundary and then swung through the line to go over long-on for the maximum. Jawadullah continued and bowled a decent over. Mohammad Arfan returned to the attack and bowled a decent over again. Muhammad Farooq came into the attack for the first time today. Thaker welcomed him with a boundary with a pull behind square for a boundary. Canada reached 71/3 in 10 overs at the halfway stage of the game.
Arfan continued as Harsh whipped it away over deep backward square leg for the maximum. Farooq continued as Dhaliwal muscled it away over the bowler’s head for a boundary. The 50-run stand came up between the two players. Dhaliwal thumped the ball to go inside out over sweeper cover for a boundary. Jawadullah continued and against the run of play Dhaliwal was run out for 34 off 28 balls with 4 fours to his name as lazy running and awareness cost him the wicket. Shreyas Movva came out to bat next.
Harshit Kaushik came into the attack next. He bowled a good tight first over as Canada brought up their 100 in 14 overs and were 100/4 in 14 overs when we again paused for the Drinks Break. Haider Ali came to bowl his final over after the break and bowled a decent over as well. Canada were 106/4 in 15 overs with Harsh Thaker unbeaten on 39 off 33 balls and Shreyas Movva unbeaten on 6 off 7 balls. Important 5 overs laid ahead of us now.
Junaid Siddique’s 5-wicket haul keeps Canada down to 150/7.Â
Harshit Kaushik continued as Harsh took him on and pumped it over the leaping long-on fielder for the maximum. Movva got a streaky boundary as he got a leading edge that beat the short third fielder for a boundary. Muhammad Arfan came back into the attack. Movva helped it on its way with a scoop to deep fine leg for a boundary. Junaid Siddique came back into the attack as Harsh got to his fifty and got there in 40 balls.
Siddique came back and got rid of Harsh for 50 off 41 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes to his name as the catch was taken by Mayank Kumar who back pedalled and took the catch. Jaskaran Singh Buttar came out to bat next and got off the mark soon. Jawadullah continued and bowled another good over. Junaid Siddique came to bowl the last over of the innings. He removed Movva for 21 off 21 balls with 2 fours to his name as the mid-off fielder took the catch. Saad Bin Zafar came to the crease next. Zafar smashed him for boundary over extra covers.
Junaid got his fifth wicket as he removed Zafar for 5 off 3 balls with one boundary to his name as the catch was taken at deep midwicket fielder by Haider Ali. Dion Heyliger came out to bat next and launched the last ball of the innings for the maximum over long-on as Canada finished with 150/7 in 20 overs. Buttar was unbeaten on 4 off 4 balls while Heyliger was unbeaten on 6 off 1 ball with a six to his name. 10 extras given by the fielding side.
Junaid Siddique was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 5/35 in 4 overs. Muhammad Jawadullah finished with 1/16 in 4 overs Haider Ali finished with 0/29 in 4 overs. Muhammad Arfan finished with 0/33 in 4 overs. Muhammad Farooq finished with 0/19 in 2 overs. Harshit Kaushik finished with 0/17 in 2 overs. This meant UAE’s target was 151 to win the match in 20 overs.
What Lies Ahead.Â
The pitch is a used surface from last night. So, this 150/7 by Canada could be a good score on the board. All eyes will be on Muhammad Waseem the captain and Alishan Sharafu to do the honours for UAE. The match is in the balance as we speak and anything can happen. Let’s see how the chase unfolds from here.
Also Read: ICC T20 WC 2026: Blessing Muzarabani’s 4-Wicket Haul Enables Zimbabwe Upset Australia