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UAE faced New Zealand for the first time in a T20I game on Thursday (August 17). The match took place at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and saw the Blackcaps defeat the hosts by a decent margin of 19 runs. With the win in the opening match of the three-match series New Zealand now leads the series (1-0) against UAE.
It is worth mentioning that New Zealand skipper Tim Southee played a significant role in his team’s victory. The left-arm pacer claimed a brilliant fifer and shifted the momentum completely in the Blackcap’s favour with his sensational bowling.
New Zealand’s struggle against the UAE bowlers:
Asked to bat first, New Zealand struggled to get going against the UAE bowlers and could manage to post a total of 155/6 in their allotted 20 overs. Tim Seifert led the charge for the Kiwis with a blistering knock of 55 runs off 34 deliveries. Cole McConchie (31) and Jimmy Neesham (25) also made valuable contributions to the total. On the other hand, Junaid Siddique and Basil Hameed picked two wickets each for UAE.
Tim Southee dismantles UAE batting line-up:
In reply, UAE had no answer to Southee’s sensational bowling effort as they ultimately fell short and were bowled out for 136 all in 19.4 overs. Aryansh Sharma was the lone warrior for the hosts. The UAE batter played a resilient innings of 60 runs off 43 balls to keep the home side alive in the chase. However, New Zealand’s bowlers, led by their skipper, put on a stellar show and were successful in restricting UAE from reaching the set target.
Southee wreaked havoc with a brilliant bowling display, claiming a brilliant fifer for just 25 runs in his quota of four overs, dismantling the UAE batting line-up.
Also READ: UAE vs NZ 2023, T20I series: Date, Match Time and Live Streaming details – When & Where to Watch
Tim Southee registers his second five-wicket haul in T20Is:
It was Southee only who gave the Blackcaps their first breakthrough by striking on the very first ball of the second innings. The Kiwi pacer’s maiden wicket on the tour came in the form of UAE skipper Muhammad Waseem whom he trapped LBW on an inswinging delivery. The 34-year-old then came back in the third over and dismissed Vriitya Aravind to push back the hosts further in the run chase.
Basil Hameed became another victim to Southee’s sensational bowling in the 13th over when he went for a big hit but mistimed it completely, handing Kyle Jamieson an easy catch. Meanwhile, the third and fourth wickets for the New Zealand captain came in the 19th over in the form of Aayan Khan and Junaid Siddique, marking his second five-wicket haul in the T20I format.
Here’s the video:
Tim Southee's 5-fer set up New Zealand's 19-run win over the United Arab Emirates.
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.#UAEvNZ pic.twitter.com/4yTSJTOde9— FanCode (@FanCode) August 17, 2023
