New Zealand cricket team made a strong comeback from yesterday's shocking loss to beat UAE in the third and last T20I match by 32 runs on Sunday, August 20. A win helped Tim Southee-led team secure a three-match away series by 2-1.
UAE cricket made history by winning the second T20I game with a dominant win but were not able to repeat that performance on Sunday. New Zealand improved their batting performance after back-to-back poor shows at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Opener Chad Bowes' struggle with a bat continued as he managed to score only nine runs but Will Young and in-form Mark Chapman added 84 runs for the third wicket to help the Black Caps scored a healthy total to fight.
Junaid Siddique shone again with three wickets but the last match's hero Aayan Afzal Khan went wicketless today. Top-ranked batter and skipper Muhammad Wassem managed to score just eight runs while chasing a tough total as UAE's top-order struggled for a good start. Lister gave the breakthrough in the second over with Waseem's early wicket and then UAE failed to recover at any stage of the game.
After a wicketless spell, the 17-year-old Aayan displayed his batting skills by smashing 42 runs off 36 balls. He was the top scorer for his side but no other player managed to score a 25-plus knock against Kiwis' impressive bowling. Lister picked three for 35 while Kyle Jamieson, Mitchell Santner and Adithya Ashok took one wicket each.
New Zealand Playing XI: Chad Bowes, Tim Seifert (wk), Dean Foxcroft, Mark Chapman, Will Young, Mitchell Santner, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Southee (c), Kyle Jamieson, Adithya Ashok, Ben Lister
United Arab Emirates Playing XI: Muhammad Waseem (c), Aryansh Sharma (wk), Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Ansh Tandon, Basil Hameed, Aayan Afzal Khan, Mohammed Faraazuddin, Muhammad Jawadullah, Junaid Siddique, Zahoor Khan
