New Zealand will clash against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday in the first T20I of a three-match series.
The match will be played at the Dubai International Stadium from 7:30 PM IST.
UAE failed to secure their spot in the upcoming ODI World Cup in India after a disappointing showing in the qualifiers in Zimbabwe. They will hope for a good show against New Zealand at home though.
UAE squared off against Afghanistan in their last T20I game in February. They had a good start as their openers scored a half-century each, putting up a 129-run opening stand. The batters, who followed, however, were unable to carry the momentum as they ended with 163 runs.
Afghanistan’s decent start helped them secure the victory by six wickets.
New Zealand beat Pakistan by six wickets in their last encounter in April this year. Thanks to a brilliant opening stand of 51 runs Pakistan were able to set a total of 193. During the second half of the game, New Zealand were left struggling after losing three wickets for 26 runs. However, Mark Chapman stood up for his side and won the game by six wickets with a brilliant century.
New Zealand are the favourites to win the series.
UAE vs NZ Dream11 Prediction
Captain: Tim Seifert
Vice-captain: Tim Southee
Wicketkeepers: Vriitya Aravind, Tim Seifert
Batters: Mark Chapman, Chad Bowes, Will Young, Waseem Muhammad
Allrounders: James Neesham, Rohan Mustafa, Mitchell Santner
Bowlers: Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson
UAE vs NZ Probable XIs
New Zealand: Chad Bowes, Will Young, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Dane Cleaver, Tim Seifert (wk), Ben Lister, Tim Southee (C), Kyle Jamieson
UAE: Waseem Muhammad (c), Asif Khan, Muhammad Jawad Ullah, Ali Naseer, Rohan Mustafa, Basil Hameed, Sanchit Sharma, Vriitya Aravind (wk), Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan
UAE vs NZ Full Squad
New Zealand: Tim Southee (c), Adi Ashok, Chad Bowes, Mark Chapman, Dane Cleaver, Jacob Duffy, Dean Foxcroft, Kyle Jamieson, Ben Lister, Cole McConchie, James Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Will Young, Kyle Jamieson
United Arab Emirates: Mohammad Waseem (c), Ali Naseer, Ansh Tandon, Aryansh Sharma, Asif Khan, Aayan Afzal Khan, Basil Hameed, Ethan D’Souza, Faraazuddin, Jash Giyanani, Junaid Siddique, Lovepreet Singh, Mohammad Jawadullah, Sanchit Sharma, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Rohan Mustafa, Karthik Meiyappan