New Zealand tour of the United Arab Emirates

UAE vs NZ, 1st T20I

Preview 

UAE will square off against New Zealand for the 1st T20I match of the New Zealand Tour of United Arab Emirates. The game is scheduled at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday, August 17. Both sides are in decent form in T20Is and have won two of their last five T20I matches. 

The hosts crossed swords with Afghanistan in their previous fixture where the Afghan Tigers emerged victorious by six wickets riding on the backs of half-centuries from Ibrahim Zadran and Karim Janat. The hosts surely need to be prepared for a bigger challenge when they face the mighty Kiwis in the upcoming fixture. 

The Kiwis on the other side faced Pakistan in their last fixture, where Mark Chapman’s stupendous century helped the Balckcaps to chase down a massive target of 193 runs hence marking a six wickets victory over the Men in Green.

Match Details

Match: UAE vs NZ, 1st T20I, New Zealand tour of United Arab Emirates, 2023

Date: Thursday, August 17, 2023

Time: 7:30 PM

Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai

Pitch Report

The Dubai International Cricket Stadium offers a ground that will assist the batters. The Pacers will find some early swing on this pitch. The batters can try out their shots freely as there is an even bounce on this pitch. The skipper winning the toss might choose to chase the target as the average first innings score on this stadium is 163.

UAE vs NZ Squads

UAE: Muhammad Waseem (c), Vriitya Aravind (wk), Asif Khan, Aryansh Sharma, Ansh Tandon, Basil Hameed, Ali Naseer, Aayan Afzal Khan, Muhammad Jawadullah, Junaid Siddique, Zahoor Khan, Sanchit Sharma, Jash Giyanani, Ethan DSouza, Mohammed Faraazuddin, Lovepreet Singh

NZ: Dane Cleaver (wk), Tim Southee (c), Chad Bowes, Will Young, Mark Chapman, Tim Seifert, James Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy, Cole McConchie, Dean Foxcroft, Ben Lister, Adithya Ashok

UAE vs NZ Probable Playing XIs

UAE: Muhammad Waseem (c), Vriitya Aravind (wk), Basil Hameed, Ansh Tandon, Ali Naseer, Ethan D’Souza, Asif Khan, Aayan Afzal Khan, Junaid Siddique, Zahoor Khan, Mohammed Farazuddin

NZ: Will Young, Chad Bowes, Mark Chapman, Dane Cleaver (wk), Dean Foxcroft, Cole McConchie, Mitchell Santner, James Neesham, Tim Southee (c), Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy

Match Prediction

New Zealand will begin as the favourites for this fixture. Though the Kiwis have a weaker squad strength that shall not have any effect on their side and should be comfortable enough to defeat UAE at their home. Few UAE players might surprise the Blackcaps but still, it would be pretty easy for the strong New Zealand squad with plenty of all-rounders to win this match. 

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