9:39pm Right. That will be that from us for this game. Hope you enjoyed our coverage as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. Do join us for the second T20I too, which is slated to be held on Saturday. Until next time, this is me (Shashwat) signing off on behalf of Chandan and everyone else at ESPNcricinfo. Goodnight and take care!
Tim Southee, the New Zealand captain is also the Player of the Match: It was a good game of cricket. We came to expect that. They are a growing side and they showed it tonight. (On the conditions) Number of guys have been playing cricket in different parts of the world. We had a couple of days of training and we had to adapt. When you travel, you get used to different conditions. They (UAE) are a quality side, they are improving. Youngsters playing with that sort of freedom - it is exciting.
Muhammad Waseem, UAE captain: (On what he makes of this game) It is an honour for us to be playing against New Zealand. We were very close (to winning) but lost due to a lack of experience. (On the communication when youngsters were coming in to bat) We are telling them to play deep into the innings. We lost early wickets and then wickets in the middle. (Plans for Saturday and Sunday) Very happy with the performance and we will take the positives from this game. From my side, he (Aryansh) will get 500 (samosas) for this performance (laughs).
9:22pm A clinical bowling display and the visitors, despite finding themselves under pressure at different stages, triumphed. Most of that was down to Southee, who snapped up a five-wicket haul, used the conditions expertly and picked up wickets whenever his side needed him to. Neesham and Santner also performed their roles well and in the end, it was the Kiwis' experience of handling pressure that got the job done.
As for the UAE, they did get themselves into a position where winning was a realistic possibility. Aryansh, on debut, blazed away to a fifty. Once he passed that mark, though, he looked a little exhausted and that crept into his batting too. Hameed, one of their more experienced players, also threw his wicket away and that passage, where they tried too many shots and lost three wickets (also that of Naseer) allowed the Kiwis back into the game.
Of course, the hosts would have wanted to start this series with a win but this game has told them that they can compete, and can perhaps even win if they hold their nerve in the moments that really matter.
Mohammed Faraazuddin c Southee b Jamieson 3 (6b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50.00
Jamieson to bowl the final over. UAE need 22. Surely the Kiwis will wrap this up?
END OF OVER:19 | 2 Runs 2 Wkts | UAE: 134/9 (22 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 7.05, RRR: 22.00)
- Zahoor Khan0 (1b)
- Mohammed Faraazuddin2 (3b)
- Tim Southee4-0-25-5
- Ben Lister3-0-24-0
Zahoor is the last batter in
Junaid Siddique c †Cleaver b Southee 1 (3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 33.33
22 needed off 9 now
Siddique in at 10. This could be very entertaining...
Aayan Afzal Khan c Seifert b Southee 5 (10b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50.00
Southee to bowl the penultimate over
END OF OVER:18 | 6 Runs | UAE: 132/7 (24 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 7.33, RRR: 12.00)
- Aayan Afzal Khan5 (9b)
- Mohammed Faraazuddin1 (2b)
- Ben Lister3-0-24-0
- Mitchell Santner4-0-22-2
Faraazuddin on strike now
END OF OVER:17 | 7 Runs 1 Wkt | UAE: 126/7 (30 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 7.41, RRR: 10.00)
- Aayan Afzal Khan2 (5b)
- Mitchell Santner4-0-22-2
- Ben Lister2-0-19-0
Ali Naseer lbw b Santner 16 (14b 1x4 1x6) SR: 114.28
Around the wicket now
37 off 22 now
Santner to bowl out. This could be a make-or-break over, especially if Naseer gets on strike
