UAE produced a clinical performance in the 2nd T20I match against the threatening Black Caps. The hosts won the match by 7 wickets and chased down the target of 143 runs with more than 4 overs left in the match. UAE dictated the terms from the word go and now surprisingly they have made a case for themselves in the T20I Series as the decider is on 20th August (*Sunday) at the Dubai International Stadium.
UAE’s decision to bowl first proved to be the game changer. The bowlers were spot-on with their line & length and hardly gave any room to the batters. The left-arm off-spinner Ayan Khan was the pick of the bowlers who not only took 3 wickets but conceded only 17 runs in his 4-over spell.
Reality Check to New Zealand
New Zealand perhaps would argue that they are not fielding their best 11 but we should give credit to UAE’s attacking game plan. New Zealand skipper Tim Southee would be in a state of shock as apart from Mark Chapman, not a single batter scored 25-odd runs and another 30-odd runs would have made the difference in the end.
New Zealand will have to pull up their socks and make sure that they don’t repeat the mistake of taking UAE lightly in the decider. The visitors need someone apart from Tim Seifert to lay the foundation for the rest of the batting unit as his wicket proved to be decisive.
Delight for UAE
UAE skipper Muhammad Waseem played a captain’s knock and scored 55 runs in 29 balls and struck 4 fours and 3 sixes. It seemed as if he was toying with the bowling unit as all the variations were proving to be ineffective. We should not forget that Asif Khan too played a blinder of a knock of 48 runs in 29 balls and struck 5 fours and 1 six.
UAE’s bowling unit made the work easier for the visitors. Muhammad Waseem would be aware of the fact that New Zealand would bounce back as the visitors will have to play out of their skin to register their maiden T20I series win against the Tim Southee-led side.
Exciting contest on cards
New Zealand will have to find a way to negate the threat of spinners as we all witnessed how they were foxed by UAE’s shrewd spinners. New Zealand perhaps will have to go berserk in the powerplay overs and then later capitalize on loose deliveries.
UAE on the other hand, has got nothing to lose and we can expect a cracker of a final and an upset can’t be ruled out. The peculiarity of UAE has been that they are hunting in a pack and are not dependent on a single individual which makes them a dangerous team.
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