Well-beaten Canada and UAE aim to reset their T20 WC campaigns

Canada and the UAE will both look to reset their campaigns when they meet in Group D, with neither side able to take too many positives from their opening outings. Heavy defeats in their respective first matches have left them chasing early ground in the tournament, turning this fixture into an opportunity not just for points but for restoration of belief.

Canada were comprehensively beaten by South Africa, who piled up 213 for 4 before restricting them to 156 for 8. The bowling unit struggled to stem the flow once South Africa got going, and although Navneet Dhaliwal offered resistance with a half-century, the chase never gathered momentum. The defeat highlighted the need for sharper execution with the ball and more collective assurance with the bat if Canada are to compete more effectively against top-tier attacks.

The UAE's result was similarly one-sided, though there were encouraging signs with the bat. After posting 173 for 6 against New Zealand, they were left powerless as the target was chased down without the loss of a wicket. While their batting showed enterprise and enough depth to reach a competitive total, the bowling lacked penetration and control against a high-quality opposition. As with Canada, the task now is about recalibrating quickly and producing a more rounded performance in a contest that suddenly carries added significance.

When: Match 20, Friday, February 13 at 3:00 PM Local Time

Where: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi

What to expect: This will be the third match that will be played in Delhi. The first one, which started at 11 AM, saw the Netherlands chase down Namibia's total of 156 with a couple of overs to spare. Namibia's captain reckoned it felt like "a tacky wicket" in the morning. But with this game starting in the afternoon, bowlers may not find as much help as they did in that match.

Head to head: Canada and the UAE have played against each other only once in T20Is. This was during the T20 World Cup qualifiers in 2019 when the UAE won by 14 runs.

Team news:

Canada

Jaskaran Singh and Saad Bin Zafar were expensive in the game against New Zealand and Canada may bring in Shivam Sharma in place of one of them.

Probable XI: Yuvraj Samra, Dilpreet Bajwa (c), Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva (wk), Harsh Thaker, Saad Bin Zafar, Jaskaran Singh/Shivam Sharma, Dilon Heyliger, Kaleem Sana, Ansh Patel

UAE

The UAE might look to strengthen their bowling by bringing in Muhammad Farooq or Simranjeet Singh in place of Muhammad Arfan.

Probable XI: Aryansh Sharma (wk), Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Mayank Kumar, Sohaib Khan, Harshit Kaushik, Muhammad Arfan/Muhammad Farooq/ Simranjeet Singh, Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Rohid Khan

What they said:

"Obviously playing against South Africa it was a massive boost for a country like Canada and it'll just help us in the future" - Harsh Thaker.

"We were good as a batting team, I think we did not bowl well as much as we can. I think we did not bowl with our plan" - Muhammad Waseem.