*UAE VS NEWZEALAND 2nd T20I 2023 PREVIEW*
*THE BUILD UP:*
*WAS THAT A SCARY ESCAPE FOR THE KIWIS?:*
All said and done about the opening fixture where NZL having struggled eventually ended up on the right side of the result. But, the question begs, was it convincing enough? Did they dominate UAE as visitors? Questions like these often go under the carpet when a top ranked side turn up and regardless of the margin of the win, become victorious. The visitors led by Southee with the skipper at the top of his run up, having picked a five wicket haul, won the game by 19 runs after having set a target of 156 runs, pretty less threatening according to the standards that this Oceanian team sets.
As the second T20I approaches, the hosts should only concentrate upon the positives that their are. Though there were individual performances that stole the show for NZ with the likes of Seifert and Southee stepping up, but as a unit and as a collective body, they had failed. The UAE led by Waseem could look to exploit this further into levelling the series down with a game remaining.
*UAE PROBABLE XI:*
Waseem Muhammad (C), Asif Khan, Ansh Tandon, Basil Hameed, Aayan Khan, A Naseer, V Aravind, Aryansh Sharma (wk), Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Mohammed Faraazuddin
The experience of Southee in this format is immense but his quality against top ranked sides has been underwhelming. Last time, the Emirates miserably failed to read him and as a result 5 wickets went up his tally. If they can find a way to negotiate that threat by attacking him and getting on top of his swing, we could see a sizeable improvement in how UAE fare with the bat. Handling Santner who has years of experience for NZL and has also led the side knows how to keep it quiet and tidy, UAE playing him with a defensive approach and the right mindset should be a bonus.
Lately, we have seen alot of duck outs for Waseem. The team requires him to step up and make it count in a game which will decide the fortunes of this series at hand. He is an aggresive player with a gun attitude and he needs to bring that to the table right away. Departing for cheap scores isn’t going to help the cause of UAE.
*NZ PROBABLE XI:*
CJ Bowes, MS Chapman, CE McConchie, Rachin Ravindra, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, D Cleaver (wk), Tim Seifert, BG Lister, Tim Southee (C), KA Jamieson
Rachin Ravindra, bowled just a single over last T20I where he ended up conceding 8. His partnership with the bowl alongside a hungry Santner is what I look forward to watching. Both purchase bounce off the track and the surface here tends to support bowling of this kind in the latter half. If NZL end up bowling second, we could see this duo wreck havoc upon the UAE batters who have a big task ahead of them.
The form of Seifert is a big plus up for NZL. He scored a half century to back up his form last game and the UAE bowlers with some of the experienced pros leading them would be eager to nip him out of the game and end his innings early without him having the chance to capitalise and go big. He has been timing it very sweetly and when you’re in form, you act classy. With Seifert, it’s a mixture of the two and his presence for NZL would be more than enough to lead and win the series.
*MY PREDICTIONS:*
*FOR UAE:*
Highest run getter- Muhammad Waseem/ V Aravind
Highest wicket taker- Junaid Siddique/Zahoor Khan
*FOR NEWZEALAND:*
Highest run getter- Tim Seifert/Mark Chapman
Highest wicket taker- Mitchell Santner/Rachin Ravindra
*FOR THE GAME:*
NZL to win but the Emirates to give them a tough fight once again. It’s all about the margins afterall is what the game will prove again.