The United Arab Emirates (UAE) secured a dramatic five-wicket victory over Canada in their Group D clash of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi, on Friday. Chasing 151, UAE were in trouble at 66/4, but Aryansh Sharma and Sohaib Khan produced match-winning knocks to turn the contest in their favor.
Aryansh anchored the innings with an unbeaten 74 off 53 balls, striking six fours and three sixes. At the other end, Sohaib Khan’s explosive 51 off 29 balls shifted momentum decisively. His innings featured four sixes and four boundaries, and his aggressive strokeplay rattled Canada’s bowlers in the closing overs. Together, Aryansh and Sohaib added 84 runs off just 42 balls, a partnership that proved to be the turning point.
Canada had earlier seized control through their spinners. Veteran all-rounder Saad Bin Zafar was the standout performer, returning figures of 3-14. He dismissed Alishan Sharafu, Mayank Kumar, and Harshit Kaushik to leave UAE reeling. Kaleem Sana also struck early, removing skipper Muhammad Waseem. At 66/4 in the 13th over, Canada looked poised for victory.
However, Sohaib’s arrival changed the complexion of the match. He announced himself with a towering six off Ansh Patel and followed up with a flurry of boundaries against Dilon Heyliger and Jaskaran Singh. Aryansh complemented him with measured strokeplay. The final overs saw UAE surge ahead. Aryansh struck three boundaries off Sana, while Sohaib reached his fifty before falling. Aryansh then sealed the chase with a six and a single, as Muhammad Arfan completed the winning run with two balls to spare.
The victory highlighted UAE’s batting depth beyond their senior pros, with youngsters Aryansh and Sohaib stepping up under pressure. For Canada, Zafar’s brilliance went unrewarded as their bowlers faltered in the death overs.
Brief scores:
Canada 150/7 in 20 overs (Harsh Thaker 50, Navneet Dhaliwal 34; Junaid Siddique 5-35, Muhammad Jawadullah 1-16) lost to UAE 151/5 in 19.4 overs (Aryansh Sharma 74 not out, Sohaib Khan 51; Saad Bin Zafar 3-14, Kaleem Sana 1-29) by five wickets
Clinical Zimbabwe stun Australia by 23 runs
Zimbabwe produced the first upset of the T20 World Cup, with a 23-run shock win over an injury-plagued Australia in their Group B clash, here on Friday. Sent into bat, Zimbabwe scored a challenging 169 for two.
Openers Brian Bennett (64 not out off 56 balls) and Tadiwanashe Marumani (35 off 21) gave a strong start to Zimbabwe, stitching 61 runs in 7.3 overs. Ryan Burl (35 off 30 balls) and skipper Sikandar Raza (25 not out off 13 balls) also made useful contributions. Cameroon Green (1/6) and Marcus Stoinis (1/17) were the wicket-takers for Australia.
In reply, Australia’s top-order failed to fire before Matt Renshaw (65 off 44) and Glenn Maxwell (31 off 32) scored the bulk of the runs but fell short as they folded for 146 in 19.3 overs.
For Zimbabwe, right-arm fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani (4/15) registered career-best figures and was ably-supported by Brad Evans (3/23).
Brief Scores:
Zimbabwe: 169 for 2 in 20 overs (Brian Bennett 64 not out, Tadiwanashe Marumani 35, Ryan Burl 35; Cameroon Greem 1/6).
Australia: 146 all out in 19.3 overs (Matt Renshaw 65, Glenn Maxwell 31; Blessing Muzarabani 4/17, Brad Evans 3/23).