New Zealand registered a comnading ten wicket win against the UAE in their second game of the WC 2026 to go on top of the table as far as the standings of teams in their group are concerned, with a healthy net run rate, thereby strengthening their chances of qualifying for the Super Eight stage of the tournament.
WC 2026: The Start
Bowling first after losing the toss, New Zealand bowlers had their task cut out ona surface which had nothing for them as the opposition batters made full use of the good batting conditions despite losing a wicket early in the innings
The duo of captain Muhammad Waseem and Alishan Sharafu added more than 100 runs, 107 to be precise, for the second wicket and laid a strong platform for the incoming batters to capatalize on.
WC 2026: The Comeback
The UAE batters looked set to post a big total on the board, and that is when New Zealand did what the team is known for, i.e. making a strong comeback courtesy of a brilliant relay catch on the boundary, which was initiated by Mark Chapman.
The Kiwis pounced on the moment of brilliance and pulled things back in the final five overs, courtesy of some intelligent bowling led by the captain, Mitchell Santner, who gave away just 23 runs in his spell of four overs and picked up a wicket. Santner was well supported by Matt Henry and Rachin Ravindra.
WC 2026: Inning of Two Halves
If we talk about the UAE’s batting innings, it was carried by two batters in the form of Muhammad Waseem and Alishan Sharafu, both of whom scored half-centuries respectively. Regardless of both Waseem and Sharafu scoring the majority of the team’s runs, UAE fell 10-15 runs short of what could have been a challenging total against a strong New Zealand batting lineup and ended up scoring 173 runs.
WC 2026: The Partnership
The opening pair of Tim Seifert and Finn Allen was watchful at the start of the innings while chasing a score of 174 runs, but shifted gears soon after against the pacers by taking them to the cleaners.
Both Seifert and Allen took the aggressive option against Muhammad Rohid Khan and experienced pacer Junnaid Siddique, both of whom ended up leaking a lot of runs as a result. The UAE was unable to create any sort of pressure on the Kiwi openers, with both of them remaining unbeaten till the end.
WC 2026: The Approach
Both Siefert and Allen completed attacking half-centuries and formed an unbeaten partnership of 175 runs for the opening wicket to take New Zealand over the line and help the team earn crucial points.
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