Aryansh Sharma the keeper batter stood tall even as captain Muhammad Waseem and Alishan Sharafu failed with the bat. The keeper batter exuded calm and showed his composure to guide the side home. At first, Junaid Siddique’s 5-wicket haul helped UAE restrict Canada to 150/7 even as Harsh Thaker scored a fifty and others chipped in as well to post a good total.
In reply, Aryansh Sharma held fort with his unbeaten 74 off 53 balls and while the captain Muhammad Waseem and Alishan Sharafu missed out, Sohaib Khan coming in at 6 stood up with a breath-taking 51 runs off 29 balls to take UAE from the jaws of defeat to victory by 5 wickets and crucial 2 points as well to climb upwards to 3rd in the points table in Group D.
Junaid Siddique’s magnificent 5-wicket haul limits Canada to 150/7.Â
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Yuvraj Samra and captain Dilpreet Bajwa came out to open the batting for Canada while Haider Ali had ball in hand for UAE. It was a steady start for Canada but soon the Canadians lost their first wicket at the score of 14 runs when the captain Bajwa fell for 11 off 11 balls with 2 fours to his name to Junaid Siddique. Navneet Dhaliwal came out to bat next. The duo of Yuvraj and Dhaliwal put on 5 runs for the 2nd wicket before Samra fell for 5 off 5 balls to Siddique yet again.
Nicholas Kirton came out to bat next. The duo tried to forge a partnership to rebuild things for Canada and added 19 runs for the third wicket before Kirton fell for 4 off 6 balls to Muhammad Jawadullah as Canada lost three in the powerplay. Harsh Thaker came out to bat next. The powerplay score was 39/3 in 6 overs for Canada. Thaker and Dhaliwal started to forge a partnership to bring Canada back in the game.
The duo aced the middle phase and started settling down. After 10 overs, Canada accelerated and took their score to 72/3 in 10 overs. The duo aced the middle phase of the game and brought Canada back into the reckoning. The duo put on a crucial stand of 58 runs for the 4th wicket before Navneet Dhaliwal fell against the run of play for 34 off 28 balls with 4 fours to his name to a lazy run out due to lack of game awareness. Shreyas Movva the keeper batter came out to bat next.
Movva and Harsh joined forces and took the score initially to 106/4 in 15 overs to start the death overs phase. Thaker and Movva turned it on and accelerated a little bit post the 15 overs were done. The duo added 33 runs for the 5th wicket before the set batter Harsh Thaker after getting a fifty got out for 50 off 41 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Siddique. Jaskaran Singh Buttar came out to bat next. Just 7 runs were added to the score before Movva fell for 21 off 21 balls with 2 fours to his name as Junaid had his man again.
Saad Bin Zafar came out to bat next. Zafar played his shots and hit a boundary. The duo added 7 runs to the scoreboard before Zafar fell for 5 off 3 balls with one boundary to his name as Siddique completed his 5-wicket haul. Dilon Heyliger came out to bat next and hit the last ball of the innings for the maximum over long-on. He remained unbeaten on 6 off 1 ball while Buttar remained unbeaten on 4 off 4 balls. 10 extras given by the fielding side as Canada finished with 150/7 in 20 overs.
For UAE, Junaid Siddique was the pick of the bowlers as the spearhead finished with 5/35 in 4 overs picking up a 5-wicket haul. Muhammad Jawadullah finished with miserly figures of 1/16 in 4 overs. There was one run out in the innings. Haider Ali finished with 0/29 in 4 overs. Muhammad Arfan finished with 0/23 in 4 overs. Muhammad Farooq finished with 0/19 in 2 overs. Harshit Kaushik finished with 0/17 in 2 overs. So, this meant that UAE needed 151 runs to win off 20 overs.
Aryansh Sharma & Sohaib Khan’s fifties help UAE edge out Canada by 5 wickets with 2 balls to spare.Â
Chasing 151 for the win, Aryansh Sharma the keeper batter opened the batting with Muhammad Waseem the captain while Kaleem Sana had ball in hand for Canada. Aryansh started on the front foot while Waseem struggled out there. The opening pair just added 12 runs before Waseem fell for 4 off 8 balls to Kaleem Sana. Alishan Sharafu came out to bat next. It was a struggle for Alishan while Aryansh tried to keep the scoreboard ticking. The score was 39/1 in 6 overs for UAE.
Post the powerplay, UAE started to lose their way a little bit. The duo of Sharafu and Sharma added 29 runs for the second wicket before Sharafu fell for 5 off 13 balls to Saad Bin Zafar. Mayank Kumar came out to bat next. The innings was going at a snail’s pace as the score was 59/2 in 10 overs. The duo added 19 runs for the 3rd wicket before Mayank fell for 4 off 6 balls to Zafar. Harshit Kaushik came out to bat next. Another 6 runs were added to the score before Kaushik fell for 5 off 9 balls with one boundary to his name to Zafar as UAE were reduced to 66/4 in 12.3 overs.
Sohaib Khan joined Aryansh in the middle. UAE looked dead and buried but then the match turned on its head as Sohaib turned the game with his breath-taking fifty. Aryansh started well and held one end up. He was the glue to the innings in the end. Sohaib plundered the bowling as death bowling was not the greatest if we are being honest. Both played their parts and accelerated at the death phase to snatch the game away.
From 66/4 UAE dramatically recovered to roar back in the game as Canada did not know what hit them. Aryansh upped the ante as well but it was all about Sohaib who did the star turn in the end. The game was a thriller as Canada let the game slip. The duo changed the game with game-changing partnership as they put on 84 runs in quick time to level the scores in the final over. With one to get, Sohaib fell for 51 off 29 balls with 4 fours and 4 sixes to his name to Buttar.
Muhammad Arfan came out to bat and hit the winning runs as well. Arfan remained unbeaten on 1 off 1 ball while Aryansh was unbeaten on 74 off 53 balls with 6 fours and 3 sixes to his name as he carried his bat. UAE finished with 151/5 in 19.4 overs winning by 5 wickets with 2 balls to spare. 7 extras given by the fielding side.
Saad Bin Zafar was the pick of the bowlers for Canada with figures of 3/14 in 4 overs. Kaleem Sana finished with 1/29 in 4 overs. Jaskaran Singh Buttar finished with 1/45 in 3.4 overs. Dilon Heyliger finished with 0/33 in 4 overs. Ansh Patel finished with 0/25 in 3 overs. Dilpreet Bajwa finished with 0/4 in 1 over. So, UAE wins by 5 wickets with 2 balls to spare to climb upwards in the table. Junaid Siddique was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, UAE wins this game by 5 wickets and get the first points on the board. They have games left against Afghanistan and South Africa while Canada goes to Chennai to play their last two games against Afghanistan and New Zealand. Canada stays at the bottom placed. Well, we have got one more game to come your way as USA takes on Netherlands in a Group A game in Chennai. Netherlands with all to play for and same for USA.
Let’s see how the final game of the day unfolds in Chennai.
Also Read:Â ICC T20 WC 2026: Canada Starts Well In Defence Of 150 At The Halfway Stage Of Chase.