New Zealand rout UAE for second T20 World Cup win

February 10, 2026 No Comments

New Zealand rout UAE for second T20 World Cup winMedia caption, ‘Brutal batting!’ – NZ duo Seifert & Allen hit 175ByAdwaidh RajanBBC Sport journalistPublished4 hours ago10 Comments

Men’s T20 World Cup, Group D, Chennai

United Arab Emirates 173-6 (20 overs): Waseem 66* (45); Henry 2-37

New Zealand 175-0 (15.2 overs): Seifert 89* (42), Allen 84* (50)

New Zealand won by 10 wickets

Scorecard. Tables

Tim Seifert and Finn Allen put on a record-breaking opening partnership as New Zealand made it two wins from two matches at the T20 World Cup with a 10-wicket defeat of the United Arab Emirates.

They guided New Zealand to a flawless victory with the highest partnership for any wicket in T20 World Cup history, breaking the previous mark of 170 held by England’s Jos Buttler and Alex Hales in a 10-wicket win over India in the 2022 semi-final.

Batting first in Chennai, half-centuries from captain Muhammad Waseem and Alishan Sharafu took the UAE to 173-6, a total they would have thought gave them a fighting chance against the 2021 finalists.

But any hope of a UAE challenge evaporated quickly as New Zealand openers Seifert and Allen produced a ruthless exhibition of hitting to help their side reach the target with 28 balls to spare.

Having hit a 42-ball 65 in Sunday’s win against Afghanistan, Seifert struck his second consecutive half-century in 23 balls and remained unbeaten on 89, while his opening partner Allen hit a 50-ball 84, which included five sixes.

Earlier, a 107-run second-wicket stand between Waseem, who remained unbeaten on 66 from 45 balls, and Sharafu had given the UAE a solid platform to build on.

Sharafu, born in the Indian state of Kerala not too far away from Chennai, attacked the off-side freely for his 47-ball 55 and it took a brilliant relay catch involving Mark Chapman and Mitch Santner to dismiss the batter.

That wicket stalled UAE’s charge but Waseem and Mayank Kumar hit 27 runs off the 18th over from Glenn Phillips to wrest back some control. However, their highest total in a T20 World Cup game ultimately proved too little to trouble New Zealand.

New Zealand will next face South Africa in Ahmedabad on Saturday while the UAE meet Canada in Delhi on Friday.

De Leede shines in Netherlands win

De Leede stars as Netherlands beat Namibia

Men’s T20 World Cup, Group A, Delhi

Namibia 156-8 (20 overs): Loftie-Eaton 42 (38); Van Beek 2-13

Netherlands 159-3 (18 overs): De Leede 72* (48); Scholtz 1-27

Netherlands won by seven wickets

Scorecard. Tables

In the first game of the day, Bas de Leede starred with both bat and ball as the Netherlands opened their account in the tournament with a convincing seven-wicket victory over Namibia.

The Netherlands suffered a narrow defeat by Pakistan after giving their opponents a major scare in the tournament opener in Colombo on Saturday but bounced back impressively in Delhi.

Chasing a target of 157, all-rounder De Leede, who had already picked up two key Namibia wickets, crafted an unbeaten 72 from 48 balls to guide them home with authority.

It is their biggest win in the tournament’s history while De Leede became the first Netherlands cricketer to score a half-century and take two wickets in the same match of a T20 World Cup.

Sent to bat in their first game of the tournament, Namibia made a decent start reaching 60-1 in nine overs before Logan van Beek dismissed Jan Frylinck, who scored 30 off 26 balls.

Namibia’s momentum was further halted by De Leede, who sent back their captain Gerhard Erasmus and JJ Smit for 18 and 22 respectively, while Nicol Loftie-Eaton fell to Van Beek after a 38-ball 42 as they posted 156-8.

The Netherlands lost opener Max O’Dowd early in the chase, but a 70-run third-wicket partnership between De Leede and Colin Ackerman steadied their innings, with the former hitting five fours and four sixes to seal their win.

The Netherlands play the United States in their next match on Friday while Namibia will take on defending champions India on Thursday.