New Zealand vs United Arab Emirates, 11th Match, Group D, ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 - Commentary

Two successful run-chases for New Zealand in Chennai. They travel to Ahmedabad next to lock horns with South Africa before returning here again for their final group-stage match. UAE, meanwhile, play their next three matches in Delhi. That's it from this game. Switch tabs to follow Pakistan vs USA. See you there...

Mitchell Santner | New Zealand captain: Yeah, it was alright. Credit to UAE, they batted pretty well on that wicket. Summed up the conditions pretty quickly and made a pretty good score. But, you know, that was a pretty flat wicket in the end. (On the bowling performance) I thought once we kind of understood the conditions, it looked like a lot better wicket than the other day. Red soil tends to play a lot better. They played some good shots, I'm not going to lie. They used the pace nicely, so I think once we went to the more into the wicket and slower, they really kind of held it more. And, the death phase from seamers was outstanding. With the bigger side, yeah, we kind of thought that was the option. So I think Rachin bowled extremely well. I was just trying to play the sides, try and get the big sides with this one over here being quite short. And then it was the same with the batting, try to target that side a little bit. (On the openers) It's nice to watch when you are in the middle order. The way those two bat together and the way they strike it. But again, I think they took great options. They looked straight and then obviously with the short side, if it was there, they took it on. But again, it's running through the big side. And yeah, I guess when they go together, it's nice for us. Ahmedabad looks like a pretty good wicket. We know how good South Africa are and it's still a massive game for us.

Muhammad Waseem | UAE captain: Yeah, as I said to you at the end, in the middle innings, we were short 15-20 runs. We need to step up as a bowling team. (how tough was it on the bowlers?) Yeah, the surface was very good. So I think that type of batsmen, we have to look at our bowling, which ball we are doing and what time we have to do that. So I think we did not execute our plan that well, but I think we need to do that in the upcoming games. (looking forward to the Canada game?) Yeah, we are looking forward to that. This is past for us for now, but I think we took some positive points from this game, especially as a batting team. And as a bowling team, we will work on that in the next two days. He's (Sharafu) a really talented player, as I said earlier before the tournament in the conference and in the interviews. He's a very talented guy. He will show more in the upcoming games.

Tim Seifert | Player of the Match: Yeah, great start. The main thing is that we’re playing how we want to play, especially me and Finn putting pressure on the bowlers in the powerplay. But also, when it gets tough a little bit, just absorbing that pressure and picking our moments. (how is it that you want to play?) Yeah, I think the way I want to play is just to adapt. Every game’s going to be a little bit different, every ground’s going to be different. So in a World Cup, you’ve just got to be able to adapt to the conditions you’re playing in. The first two games have been here and the conditions have seemed pretty good. (how did you find the conditions?) Yeah, very good. I think in the first innings it was just holding a little bit, but on the whole you get through that. Once you get in, it’s a nice wicket - one where you can really make the most of it. (Finn missed out in the last game but your combination - did you enjoy that?) Yeah, that’s T20 cricket as well. You’re not always going to get going, but the main thing is playing how you want to play and how we want to play as a team. Some days that comes off, and other days it doesn’t but today it did, and I thought we batted very well. (highest opening stand in T20 World Cups) No, I didn’t know that. Not much of a stats guy, but look - we’ll take it.

Stats by Roshan Gede

Most sixes for NZ in T20Is
173 - Martin Guptill
107 - Colin Munro
101 - Glenn Philips
100 - Finn Allen
100 - Tim Seifert

Highest partnerships in Men’s T20 WC (any wicket)
175* - Tim Seifert & Finn Allen (NZ) vs UAE, Chennai, 2026
170* - Jos Buttler & Alex Hales (ENG) vs IND, Adelaide, 2022
168 - Quinton de Kock & Rilee Rossouw (SA) vs BAN, Sydney, 2022
166 - Mahela Jayawardene & Kumar Sangakkara (SL) vs WI, Barbados, 2010
154 - Ibrahim Zadran & Rahmanullah Gurbaz (AFG) vs UGA, Providence 2024

150-plus stands for NZ in T20Is (any wicket)
184 - Devon Conway & Glenn Phillips vs WI, Mount Maunganui, 2020
175* - Tim Seifert & Finn Allen vs UAE, Chennai, 2026
171* - Martin Guptill & Kane Williamson vs PAK, Hamilton, 2016

10 wicket wins in T20 WC
AUS vs SL, Cape Town, 2007
SA vs ZIM, Hambantota, 2012
Oman vs PNG, Al Amerat, 2021
PAK vs IND, Dubai, 2021
ENG vs IND, Adelaide, 2022
ENG vs USA, Bridgetown, 2024
NZ vs UAE, Chennai, 2026

28 balls remaining is the third-most in a successful 150-plus chase in T20 WC, after 41 for Scotland vs Oman (T: 151, North Sound, 2024) and 37 for Netherlands vs Ireland (T: 190, Sylhet, 2014).

150-plus targets chased down without losing a wicket in Men’s T20Is
200 - PAK vs ENG, Karachi, 2022
174 - NZ vs UAE, Chennai, 2026
169 - NZ vs PAK, Hamilton, 2016
169 - ENG vs IND, Adelaide, 2022
153 - IND vs ZIM, Harare, 2024
152 - PAK vs IND, Dubai, 2021

12:37 GMT, 18:07 IST: New Zealand have made a mockery of UAE's 173. UAE, opting to bat, posted their highest T20 WC total on the back of an impressive century partnership between Muhammad Waseem and Alishan Sharafu. Their captain admitted during the innings break that they were below-par considering the nature of the deck. Haider Ali bowled a couple of tidy overs in the powerplay. Barring that, UAE couldn't exert any sort of pressure. The New Zealand openers put on a power-hitting masterclass. They smashed 78 runs in the powerplay. Seifert got to his fifty off 23 balls while his opening partner - Finn Allen - took 27 deliveries to reach the same landmark. It was raining boundaries in Chennai. The bowling was ordinary and the two batters took full toll of it. Both of them remained unbeaten to wrap up the proceedings with 28 balls to spare.

Drinks are on the field now. New Zealand need 12 runs to win and it's just a formality...