Chennai, Feb 10 (IANS) UAE won the toss and elected to bat against New Zealand in a Group C match of the T20 World Cup 2026 here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday.
The UAE will be playing their first game of the World Cup and will want to start their campaign with a win. Led by Muhammad Waseem, the team secured their spot in the tournament by finishing third at the T20 World Cup Asia and EAP Qualifier 2025/26, which took place in Oman in October 2025.
Earlier, New Zealand got off to a good start, beating Afghanistan in their campaign opener.
UAE captain Muhammad Waseem said, “We are going to bat first. The pitch is looking good. I believe it is going to be the same in both the innings so hopefully we put a good score up. It is difficult to get a good playing XI, though we have a good combination of spinners and fast bowlers. Hopefully it works for us. Absolutely we want to show the world how well we are playing T20 cricket. Yes, it is a tough group but we ready for the challenge. We have come here with a strong mindset. Confidence is good. However, it is a different venue and a different pitch, so I’ll try my best.”
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said, “It looks like a good wicket to me. If we’d won the toss, we probably would’ve looked to bat as well. But having said that, the pitch seems to play pretty well throughout the day. We’re going with the same team. It’s a similar combination to what we played with the other day.
Talking about their preparation, Santner added, “These days, you have to do a lot of video analysis. With franchise cricket around, you can find footage of almost anyone. We only had a day between games, so yesterday was about reviewing our own plans and getting ready for a stronger opposition. It’s about being smart with preparation.”
Praising UAE, the Kiwi skipper said, “They’re a good side. We know they beat us in Dubai, and on these kinds of surfaces – slightly slower ones – they can be very tricky. They do rely on a few key players, but overall, their squad is solid. We know we have to be switched on today.”
Playing XIs:
United Arab Emirates: 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
New Zealand: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), Jimmy Neesham, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy
–IANS
hs/bc