Their eighth try resulted in their maiden T20I victory in Dubai. with their third effort, they defeated New Zealand for the first time in any format. In the second T20I, the UAE defeated New Zealand with ease by seven wickets to tie the three-match series at one game each.
It was a day of historic firsts for the UAE. It was the first defeat for New Zealand against teams who did not participate in the Test series in 39 games across all forms.
Aayan Afzal Khan, a 17-year-old left-arm spinner, helped UAE restrict New Zealand to 142 for 8 and set up the victory by returning career-best figures of 3 for 20. Only two other New Zealand batters reached double digits, so Mark Chapman‘s 46-ball 63 was essential in getting the visitors there.
When the UAE team got off to a fast start with a 29-ball 55, Muhammad Waseem ensured that they did not make the same mistakes they did in the first T20I. In order to get UAE over the finish line with 26 balls remaining, Asif Khan and Basil Hameed then maintained their composure.
Spinners were anticipated to exert their dominance because the second T20I was being played on the same surface as the first. Waseem entered Aayan into the match in the very next over, and it turned out to be true.
He was propelled for a six by Seifert, but he came back strongly to take back-to-back wickets. The promotion of Mitchell Santner to No. 3 didn’t exactly go as planned, so he started by cleaning him up. He sent Dane Cleaver back with a straightener, low-keeping ball right after that.
To account for Chad Bowes for a run-a-ball 21, Aayan then used cleverness. Early on, the spinner slowed it down and delivered outside off as Bowes was preparing for a reverse sweep. The hitter failed to make contact, stumbled, and was then thrown out. As a result, New Zealand was in trouble in the seventh over at 38 for 4.
Chapman started his career as a player for Hong Kong and was raised on a diet of white-ball cricket, playing spinners in subcontinental conditions.
Chapman quickly felt at home on a pitch where the other New Zealand hitters had trouble getting going. He played several of his shots with his front foot as opposed to his back, reaching to the ball’s pitch and taking the turn into account, something that the other players did not do.
He played in singles at first while keeping a close eye on Mohammed Faraazuddin, the newcomer, whom he then targeted and hit for two fours and a six over the course of two overs. Chapman expanded his shoulders slightly as he gained velocity. To get his sixth T20I fifty, he hammered Zahoor Khan for back-to-back sixes, but ultimately failed in the last over.
James Neesham pulled off an incredible catch at first slip, throwing himself to his right to dismiss Aryansh Sharma for a third-ball duck, to give New Zealand a surprising start to their 142-run total defense.
Along with breaking Shakib Al Hasan’s record for most T20I wickets, Tim Southee now shares the record with him. Waseem, who was out for a first-ball duck in the first T20I, nevertheless made sure that his team was always scoring more runs than they were being asked to.
He was granted a reprieve on both 5 and 41, and he made New Zealand pay. With Vriitya Aravind, he contributed 40 points in 32 balls, and with Asif, he added 56 points in 31 balls. Waseem never engaged in mindless labor. During his innings, he hit four fours and three sixes while concentrating on particular bowlers. UAE needed just 47 from nine overs when he was bowled.
The difference with which the UAE batters approached their tasks was what distinguished the first and second T20Is. Waseem fell without any panic stations present. In order to bring the UAE closer, Hameed entered the game and made it a point to rotate the strike whenever possible. Asif did the same. Asif began making shots only when the necessary runs reached the 20s.
In the 15th over, he first hacked Southee over long-on for a six before clubbing Neesham for two fours. Asif, appropriately, was the player to end the game with two consecutive fours, setting off jubilation in the UAE camp.