T20 WC: Fifties by Aryansh, Sohaib power UAE to thrilling five-wicket win over Canada
New Delhi, Feb 13 : Aryansh Sharma struck an unbeaten 74 off 53 balls while Sohaib Khan smashed 51 off 29 as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) chased down 151 to beat Canada by five wickets in their Group D clash of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Friday.
UAE slipped to 66/4 in the chase of 151, but Sharma held firm at one end even as Canada’s spinners tightened their grip through the middle overs. With the required rate climbing, Sohaib’s arrival changed the momentum. He launched four sixes and four boundaries in a blistering counterattack, while adding 84 runs with Aryansh off just 42 balls.
Sharma anchored the chase with measured strokeplay, finishing unbeaten from 53 deliveries, hitting six fours and three sixes. But Sohaib’s aggression rattled Canada’s bowlers in the closing overs and turned the game around for the UAE.
Veteran all-rounder Saad Bin Zafar was the standout for Canada with figures of 3-14, but his efforts were not enough to prevent the UAE’s late surge. The victory underlined the UAE’s batting depth beyond their senior pros skipper Muhammad Waseem and Alishan Sharafu, as Aryansh and Sohaib stepped up to secure the win with two balls to spare.
UAE’s chase began on a false note as Waseem was cramped for room on a pull and top-edged to midwicket off Kaleem Sana. Sharma, however, looked fluent -- unfurling a back-foot punch through the covers off Dilon Heyliger and then launching Jaskaran Singh for a six over cow corner, before following it up with two more boundaries in the fifth over.
Alishan Sharafu struggled to find timing at the other end and miscued a lofted drive to extra cover off Zafar. Mayank Kumar joined Sharma, but Zafar struck again in his next over, as he holed out to long-on. Harshit Kaushik briefly lifted hopes with an edged boundary off Bajwa, but he too perished to Zafar’s guile, picking out midwicket.
At 66/4 in 12.3 overs, Canada had seized control. But the chase turned on its head when Sohaib Khan arrived. He announced himself with a six over long-on off Ansh Patel and then combined forces with Sharma for launching a superb counter-attack.
Aryansh brought up his fifty with a towering hit over long-on off Patel, while Sohaib cleared the ropes twice in Heyliger’s 16th over, including a straight strike into the sight screen, apart from a lofted four going over mid-off. Suddenly, the required rate was back within reach for the UAE.
The 18th over saw Sohaib hammer Jaskaran for a four through the vacant extra-cover region and a six over the long-on fence. By that time, Canada looked rattled, their bowlers missing yorkers and offering width. When Sana returned, the UAE needed 26 off 12 balls. Sharma leaned and pulled twice to get three fours, while Sohaib capitalised on a beamer with a free-hit four, before getting his fifty with a brace through long-on region.
The pair’s audacious strokeplay left UAE within touching distance, with the crowd sensing a finish that had seemed improbable just a few overs earlier. Though Sohaib mistimed a loft to mid-on, after Aryansh pulled Jaskaran for six and did a fist-punch to signal they were closer to crossing the finishing line, Muhammad Arfan got the required single to get a memorable win for UAE over Canada.
Brief scores:
Canada 150/7 in 20 overs (Harsh Thaker 50, Navneet Dhaliwal 34; Junaid Siddique 5-35, Muhammad Jawadullah 1-16) lost to UAE 151/5 in 19.4 overs (Aryansh Sharma 74 not out, Sohaib Khan 51; Saad Bin Zafar 3-14, Kaleem Sana 1-29) by five wickets