"They showed the world their ability": UAE skipper Muhammad Waseem lauds Aryansh-Sohaib's partnership after win over Canada

New Delhi [India], February 13 (ANI): UAE skipper Muhammad Waseem praised Sohaib Khan and Aryansh Sharma for showing their talent on the world stage and said he's thrilled with their performance after his side's victory over Canada in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
A phenomenal five-wicket haul from Siddique, coupled with a fiery half-century from opener Sharma, helped UAE topple Canada by five wickets in their match at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday.
Despite the UAE's victory, Waseem said his side's batting still needs improvement in the middle overs, and they'll focus on that in the upcoming matches. He also highlighted Junaid Siddique's five-wicket haul, calling him a seasoned leader of the bowling attack and expecting him to keep the momentum going.
"They showed the world their ability and the way Shoaib and Aryansh played. I'm very happy for them. I think we have to improve our batting in the middle overs, from 7 to 15, and the 16th over. I think we have to look after. So, in the upcoming games, we will work on that, and that is the part of the game we have to work on. (on Junaid Siddique) Yeah, very happy for him. He is a very experienced bowler and a leader of our bowling attack. And today he took five wickets. I'm very happy for him, and I think he will keep that momentum in the upcoming game," Muhammad Waseem said after the match.
With this win, the UAE is in third place in Group D with one win and one loss, behind New Zealand and South Africa, who have won both their games. With matches against South Africa and Afghanistan left, the UAE is still in contention for a Super Eight spot. However, that road is far more unlikely for Canada, who have lost both its matches so far.
Canada skipper Dilpreet Bajwa, after the defeat, said they'd hoped for 160-170 but settled for 150 after losing early wickets, which hurt their chase. He felt 150 would be tough to defend, while praising Shoaib and Aryan for their knocks.
"We were expecting 160-170, but I think the early wicket we lost cost us the game again. So we were happy with 150. We knew that it's going to be hard to chase like 150 in the second inning. But I think Shoaib and Aryan played well. (on the dew) I think dew factor always helps this chase, but we thought that's not going to come here," Bajwa said after the match.
Coming to the match, Canada won the toss and elected to bat first. Canada was down to 38/3 in 5.1 overs, and it was a 58-run stand between Navneet Dhaliwal (34 in 28 balls, with four boundaries) and Harsh Thaker (50 in 41 balls, with two fours and three sixes) that offered some stability.
Shreyas Movva (21 in 21 balls, with two fours) played a decent cameo, powering Canada to 150/7 in 20 overs, a modest total, with Junaid (5/35) being the pick of the bowlers.
During the run-chase of 151 runs, Aryansh was in the thick of the action, but the pair of skipper Muhammed Waseem (4) and Alishan Sharafu (5) and middle-order batters Mayank Kumar (4) and Harshit Kaushik (5) were removed quickly, reducing UAE to 66/4 in 12.3 overs.
Aryansh stabilised things by joining forces with Sohaib Khan (51 in 29 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes), taking the team to the brink of a win with an 84-run stand untill Sohaib was undone on the third ball of the final over. Aryansh (74* in 53 balls, with six fours and three sixes) kept his cool and took his team to a win with two balls and five wickets left.
Saad Bin Zafar (3/14 in four overs) was the pick of the bowlers for Canada, while Jaskaran Singh and Kaleem Sana also got a wicket. (ANI)