With today's victory, the UAE climb to third place in the points table. That wraps up our coverage from Delhi for today. Thank you for tuning in, and please join Andrew Miller for the USA vs Netherlands game starting in just a few minutes. This is Rashad Mahbub signing off on behalf of Vairavan Karuppiah and the rest of the ESPNcricinfo crew. Sayonara!
Sheik sajith: "Shouldn't the score be 154/5 as the last ball was hot and ball went over the ropes... why is it capped at 151/5?" Since they had already completed the single and reached the target, the boundary won't be counted.
Muhammad Waseem: "[Conversation in the dugout] To be honest, the situation was simple. I went inside during the break and told them to keep believing in themselves. They showed the world their ability, and the way they played makes me very happy for them. [Areas to improve] I think we have to improve our batting in the middle overs, specifically from the 7th to the 16th over. We need to look after that phase. Inshallah, we will work on that for the upcoming games because that is one part of the match where we need to improve. [Junaid] I'm very happy for him. He is a very experienced bowler and the leader of our bowling attack. He took five wickets today, and I think he will keep that momentum going in the upcoming games."
Dilpreet Bajwa: "We were expecting 160 or 170, but since we lost early wickets, we were happy with 150. We knew it would be a hard total to chase in the second innings, but Sohaib and Aryansh played very well. [Batting under the lights] I think the dew factor always helps the chase. We didn't expect it to come into play here, but it helped them as the ball didn't spin as much. [Where did you guys fell behind?] When we were taking wickets, we didn't manage to keep the momentum going. That is where we lacked. Our fast bowlers didn't stick to their plans, and that cost us the game. [Positives from the game] Our spinners and middle order are doing very well. We are just expecting our top order to get some runs and our fast bowlers to find their lines again."
Player of the Match, Junaid Siddique: "The pitch was good. We worked with our coaches on how to bowl in these conditions. I wanted to hit the hard lengths and try to mix things up with slower balls. I was trying to bowl some quicker balls and then go for my best slower balls into the wicket. [150 was comfortable to chase down?] In the first innings, we thought they might be going for 160 or 170. We bowled very well in the last few overs and knew that 150 was a chaseable total."
Matt: "and to think that i was called "silly" for saying that scraping to 150 was a poor effort, after being 96-3 with 7 overs left and 2 set batsmen coasting along...."
Vicky: "WOW!!! Did I just start a debate or a controversy? My only thought was since Zimbabwe have managed to beat them previously and they manage to do it again, lets not label it as a one off win or call it a upset or a fluke. Lets give credit where its due. They have worked hard and have reaped the results for the same. Its a team which is growing and improving. Yes they are low ranked, but the beauty of Cricket is that any low ranked team can defeat any of the higher ranked teams."
6:42 pm The UAE couldn't have asked for a worse start, losing their captain inside the first three overs of the powerplay. But Sharma had other ideas. He took a liking to the bowling at the end of the powerplay, cracking two crisp fours and launching a six that finally gave the chase some life. Even then, it wasn't smooth sailing. Canada's spinners slowed things right down through the middle overs, tying the batters up and squeezing the scoring options. The required rate kept creeping up, past 11 after the halfway mark, and with two more wickets falling, the pressure was firmly back on the UAE. The game turned when Sohaib walked in. Canada had been in control for most of the night, but one over changed the mood completely. From the 17th over, Sohaib went after the bowlers, clearing the ropes twice and finding the boundary again to swing the momentum. Suddenly, belief was back for the UAE. What followed was a match-defining partnership, 84 runs off just 43 balls, as Sharma held things together while Sohaib played the aggressor role. Sohaib's 51 from 29 balls came at exactly the right time, while Sharma's unbeaten 74 off 53 was the backbone of the chase. For Canada, Zafar was exceptional with the ball, finishing with 3 for 14 from his four overs, but in the end it wasn't enough to stop the late charge as the seam bowlers leaked runs in the death overs. We'll bring you the post-match presentation shortly.
UAE won by 5 wickets
Muhammad Arfan is the new batter in
Sohaib Khan c Kirton b Jaskaran Singh 51 (41m 29b 4x4 4x6) SR: 175.86
8 runs needed off 6 deliveries. Jaskaran to bowl the last one.
END OF OVER:19 | 18 Runs | UAE: 143/4 (8 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 7.52, RRR: 8.00)
- Sohaib Khan51 (28b)
- Aryansh Sharma67 (51b)
- Kaleem Sana4-0-29-1
- Jaskaran Singh3-0-37-0
Free Hit
around the wicket
26 runs off 12 balls, Sana to bowl now.
END OF OVER:18 | 13 Runs | UAE: 125/4 (26 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 6.94, RRR: 13.00)
- Sohaib Khan45 (25b)
- Aryansh Sharma56 (47b)
- Jaskaran Singh3-0-37-0
- Dilon Heyliger4-0-33-0
Rish: "Among these pedantic arguments, Canada have let the game slip away from them"
Bajwa has a chat with Jaskaran
END OF OVER:17 | 17 Runs | UAE: 112/4 (39 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 6.58, RRR: 13.00)
- Sohaib Khan33 (19b)
- Aryansh Sharma56 (47b)
- Dilon Heyliger4-0-33-0
- Jaskaran Singh2-0-24-0
Mustafa Moudi : "Well let me give a Clear Upset of an UPSET... If a Team that Never Ever Made it to the Semi-Finals of a Major Tournament, if they goes on to win against a Side that did, its an Upset. Thats how I see it !!"
Shreyas HM: "Just to add to the conversation, the Aussies do have a phenomenal record in ODI World Cups but not as good in T20s. Only 1 semi-final appearance in the last 5 editions!"
Shadow-Shell: "Just a reminder - Zimbabwe didn't even make the last T20I World Cup"
Ashar : "We need to understand that fluke and upset are two completely different things. Calling a win upset is not disrespectful. In fact, it gives the winning team credit for putting up a performance against a higher ranked and more formidable opponent with much better resources."
56 runs needed from 24 balls, Heyliger to bowl out
