The New Zealand vs. United Arab Emirates (NZ vs UAE) game in Match 11 of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 is all geared up to be held at the historic MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on February 10, 2026. In this Group D fixture, a powerful New Zealand side is up against a UAE side that is returning after a while.
NZ vs UAE: Match Preview
New Zealand will enter this game in confidence, given they started their World Cup campaign with a dominant win against Afghanistan by five wickets. Although the Chennai wicket was expected to turn, New Zealand played a mature game with both the bat and the ball, resulting in a comfortable victory. New Zealand, still high from their previous win, will look to win their second game in a row to top Group D.
The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, will be playing its opening match of the tournament. This will be their third outing in the T20 World Cup history books after they failed to qualify for the 2024 tournament.
The UAE side, which is captained by Muhammad Waseem, boasts talented contenders in their ranks, including Alishan Sharafu, Dhruv Parashar, Aryansh Sharma, and Simranjeet Singh, all looking to take on one of the biggest powers in international cricket with this clash against NZ.
NZ vs UAE: Match Details
Match: New Zealand vs United Arab Emirates, Match 11
Tournament: ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026
Date: Tuesday, February 10
Time: 3:00 PM IST
Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Live Broadcast: JioStar Network Channels
Live Streaming: JioHotstar (App & Website)
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai: Pitch Report
The Chepauk track generally assists spin bowlers since the surface often turns significantly during the course of the game. Nevertheless, during the first T20 World Cup game played at this ground, spinners were involved.
However, serious batsmen can also score bigs if they display patience. The game between NZ and UAE is expected to be dominated by spin bowling, so bowling variations are important in that game.
NZ vs UAE: Head-to-Head Record in T20s
Matches Played: 3
New Zealand Wins: 2
UAE Wins: 1
No Result/Tied: 0
First Encounter: August 17, 2023
Most Recent Encounter: August 20, 2023
New Zealand hold a slight edge in the head-to-head record heading into this NZ vs UAE clash.
NZ vs UAE: Predicted Playing XIs
New Zealand
Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), James Neesham, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy
United Arab Emirates
Aryansh Sharma (wk), Muhammad Waseem (c), Muhammad Zohaib, Alishan Sharafu, Harshit Kaushik, Sohaib Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Muhammad Arfan, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Jawadullah
NZ vs UAE: Probable Best Performers
Probable Best Batter – Tim Seifert (New Zealand)
Skipper Tim Seifert is likely to pose a big challenge for opposition bowlers in the NZ vs. UAE match. He performed outstandingly in the first match, hitting 65 runs off 42 balls against Afghanistan. In the last one year, Seifert has scored 2,018 runs in 82 matches at a strike rate of 143.84.
Probable Best Bowler – Mitchell Santner of New Zealand
New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner might have a big role to play in this game in front of his home crowd in Chennai. Although he remained wicketless in the opening game, he was in terrific control. Overall in 128 T20 games, he has claimed 135 wickets at an economy rate of 7.25, and his spell of four overs might prove to be useful in this game.
NZ vs UAE Match Prediction
On paper, New Zealand have a huge advantage in terms of experience, depth, and recent form. UAE will certainly try to put up a strong fight, but the conditions and squad balance definitely favor the Black Caps.
Prediction: New Zealand to win the NZ vs UAE Match 11 encounter.
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