In the Group D game in Delhi, Canada posted 150/7 which is a competitive total on the board on a used surface. UAE came out to bat in pursuit of 151 and they suffered a major blow when they lost their skipper Muhammad Waseem for a low score. But Aryansh Sharma has steadied things up in the company of Alishan Sharafu who came in at Number 3. They made sure that UAE go steady in the powerplay and take it from there.
Muhammad Waseem falls cheaply as Canada keep UAE under check in powerplay.Â
Chasing 151 for the win, keeper batter Aryansh Sharma came out to open the batting with captain Muhammad Waseem while Kaleem Sana had ball in hand for Canada. Sana bowled a miserly first over. Dilon Heyliger had ball in hand from the other end. Aryansh broke the shackles as he crunched the ball through the cover point fielder for a boundary. Sana continued and he got the prized scalp of Waseem for 4 off 8 balls.
He bowled a fast delivery on a good length around the leg stump skidding through. Waseem used his feet and tried to pick it up but got cramped up for room. He ended up mistiming it off the upper half of the bat. The ball went high in the air towards mid-on. The deep midwicket fielder got across to his left and called for the catch at first but then decided to not go forward seeing Dhaliwal running from mid-on to his right. Dhaliwal showed sharp reflexes and snaffled it comfortably. Alishan Sharafu came out to bat at 3 and got off the mark.
Heyliger continued and he bowled a tight over. Sana continued and kept things under check as UAE crawled to 22/1 in 5 overs. Jaskaran Singh Buttar came into the attack to bowl the last over of powerplay. Aryansh broke the shackles by swivelling across and pulled it away over deep midwicket for the maximum. Sharma then crashed the next ball by driving it past the cover fielder for a boundary. Sharma was on a roll as he pumped the ball by pulling over midwicket for a boundary.
At the end of the powerplay, UAE were 39/1 in 6 overs with Aryansh Sharma unbeaten on 28 off 20 balls and Alishan Sharafu was with him unbeaten on 4 off 8 balls. Drinks was taken on the field with the equation now 112 more to win off 84 balls.
Alishan Sharafu falls for a low score as UAE struggle in the chase.Â
Saad Bin Zafar came into the attack post the powerplay and Drinks Break. He struck in his first over as he removed Sharafu for 5 off 13 balls. Zafar pushed across full and outside the off-stump spinning away. Sharafu backed away and tried to go inside out over covers but ended up mistiming it to the cover fielder where Kirton backtracked and took the catch as he went across to his left to snaffle it over his head. Mayank Kumar came out to bat next.
Ansh Patel came into the attack now. He bowled a tight over to start his spell. Zafar continued and he bowled another decent over. The 50 came up for UAE in 9 overs. Ansh continued as Aryansh got the outside edge that flew past the keeper for a boundary. UAE reached 59/2 in 10 overs at the halfway stage of the chase with Aryansh unbeaten on 42 off 35 balls alongside Mayank Kumar with him on 4* off 4 balls. The equation now was 92 runs off 60 balls.
What Lies Ahead.Â
Despite posting a sub-par score, Canada has done well to keep UAE down to 59 in 10 overs and picked up the two big wickets of Waseem and Sharafu. Aryansh is playing well but he needs to go big and needs support from the other players. This game is Canada’s at the moment. UAE not totally out of it. Let’s see what the second half of the chase has instore for us.
Also Read: ICC T20 WC 2026: Junaid Siddique’s 5-Wicket Haul Limits Canada To 150/7.