New Zealand crush UAE with record opening stand in T20 World Cup

New Zealand openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen smashed unbeaten fifties to chase down UAE’s 174-run target with ease in Chennai. Their 175-run stand set a tournament record as the Black Caps sealed a commanding 10-wicket win in the T20 World Cup

Chennai: The New Zealand opening pair of Tim Seifert and Finn Allen went on a rampage against the UAE bowling attack to make short work of the 174-run target, firing the Black Caps to a 10-wicket win in the T20 World Cup here on Tuesday.

The UAE did well to post 173 for six, their highest total in tournament history, following fine fifties from captain Muhammad Waseem (66 not out off 45) and Alishan Sharafu (55 off 44) at the top of the order.

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However, the destructive duo of Allen (84 not out off 50) and Seifert (89 not out off 42) ran riot on a red soil pitch to fashion a 10-wicket victory for their team.

Their 175-run stand off 92 balls was the highest for any wicket in tournament history as New Zealand coasted to the win in 15.2 overs.

It was the first game of the tournament for UAE, who would need to go back to the drawing board after the hammering at Chepauk.

New Zealand, eliminated early in the previous edition, have fired warning shots to rival teams with two emphatic wins in as many games.

Barring left-arm spinner Haider Ali, none of the UAE bowlers were able to contain Seifert and Allen, who scored boundaries at will.

The game was as good as done when New Zealand raced to 119 for no loss in 10 overs.

The standout shots of Seifert’s innings were the reverse sweeps off Haider in the 11th over, fetching him a six and a four.

Allen tore into medium pacer Junaid Siddique early in the innings as he shuffled across the stumps to scoop him for a six over fine leg.

UAE pacers looked clueless against the onslaught of the New Zealand openers, paying a heavy price for bowling too many length balls. Allen completed the milestone of 100 sixes in T20 Internationals during his entertaining effort.

Earlier, Waseem and Sharafu were able to get boundaries regularly in the powerplay despite Aryansh Sharma (8) falling to Jacob Duffy off a short ball in the second over.

Waseem was more aggressive than Sharafu in their opening partnership, employing a ramp off Duffy for a six before coming down the track to Rachin Ravindra for a straight six.

Sharafu, at the other end, got to his fifty with a slog off a slower ball from Matt Henry towards cow corner.

It took a special fielding effort from Mark Chapman at the deep midwicket boundary to break the partnership. Chapman parried the ball back to Daryl Mitchell to complete a fine relay catch.

The boundaries dried up after the dismissal of Sharafu in the 15th over.

However, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner decided to give the 18th over to Glenn Phillips, who ended up leaking 27 runs in the over, with Waseem and Mayank Kumar picking up a six each.

UAE managed 51 runs in the last five overs at the loss of four wickets, including two in the final over.