NZ vs UAE: Kiwis eye back-to-back wins while UAE look for a winning start
New Zealand will go head-to-head against the UAE at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai in this particular match of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Both teams will look to give it their all in an attempt to win the contest and earn crucial points at this stage of the tournament in order to have the momentum on their side in the next few games.
If we talk about New Zealand, the Mithell Santner led side is coming into the contest on the back of a strong performance against Afghanistan, which resulted in them winning the game comfortably in the end. The captain and the management would hope for the players to replicate the same effort in all three aspects.
UAE, on the other hand, would take confidence from the fact that they were able to get the better of New Zealand in one game of the three-match series that the two teams played in 2023. Having said that, a lot will depend on how the team performs with the bat. If they are able to put a challenging total on the board, they will back the bowlers to run the Kiwis close
NZ vs UAE: Captains’ Chatter
Muhammad Waseem, the captain of the UAE, who elected to bat first after winning the toss, said that the wicket looks good, which will remain the same in both innings, and they will look to post a competitive score on the board. Talking about the challenge that the group that the UAE is in posses Waseem admitted that it is a tough group, but they will put their best foot forward
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Mitchell Santner was of the opinion that the wicket in question was different from the one which was used for the previous match in terms of the colour of the soil, with the previous one being a black soil wicket, whereas it is the red soil wicket which is being used today.
Santner was of the opinion that with the amount of video footage that is available nowadays, one can figure out the strength and weakness of the opposition when asked about New Zealand having not facd UAE a lot.
NZ vs UAE: The Combination
NZ: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), James Neesham, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy
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UAE: Aryansh Sharma (wk), Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Mayank Kumar, Sohaib Khan, Harshit Kaushik, Muhammad Arfan, Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Rohid Khan
NZ vs UAE: Nature of the surface
The pitch at the MA Chidambaram Stadium for the NZ vs UAE game is expected to have a lot of bounce, which the fast bowlers can make full use of in the first six overs. The bounce can also be used by the batters to their advantage as it will allow them to hit through the line while staying on the backfoot.
Also Read: PAK vs USA, T20 World Cup 2026: Head To Head, Pitch Report, Playing 11 And More
