UAE 144 for 3 (Waseem 55, Asif 48*, Santner 1-26) beat New Zealand 142 for 8 (Chapman 63, Aayan 3-20, Jawadullah 2-16) by seven wickets

A first T20I win in Dubai in their eighth attempt. A first win in any format over New Zealand in their third attempt. It was a day of historic firsts for UAE as they put on a stellar show to ease past New Zealand in the second T20I by seven wickets and level the three-match series 1-1.

For New Zealand, it was their first loss in 39 matches against a non-Test-playing nation across formats.

The win was set up by 17-year-old Aayan Afzal Khan, who returned career-best figures of 3 for 20 to help UAE restrict New Zealand to 142 for 8. That the visitors reached there was down to Mark Chapman’s 46-ball 63 as only two other New Zealand batters got into the double-digits.

Muhammad Waseem then made sure UAE did not repeat the mistakes from the first T20I as he got the side off to a flyer, smoking a 29-ball 55. Asif Khan and Basil Hameed then kept their head to take UAE over the line with 26 balls to spare.

Aayan’s best leaves New Zealand in trouble

The second T20I was being played on the same surface as the first, which meant spinner were expected to make their presence felt. And sure enough, the UAE captain Waseem got Aayan into the game in the second over itself. He was pumped for a six by Seifert but returned strongly to claim back-to-back wickets. He first cleaned up Mitchell Santner, whose promotion to No. 3 didn’t quite go as per the plan. The very next ball, he sent back Dane Cleaver with a straighter one that kept low.

Aayan then brought his guile into play to account for Chad Bowes for a run-a-ball 21. With Bowes shaping up for a reverse sweep early, the spinner slowed it down and bowled outside off. The batter failed to connect, lost his balance and was stumped. The left New Zealand stumbling at 38 for 4 in the seventh over.

Chapman brings out his subcontinent experience

Chapman began his career playing for Hong Kong and has been brought up on a diet of white-ball cricket, playing spinners in subcontinent conditions. On a surface where the rest of the New Zealand batters struggled to get going, Chapman immediately found himself at home. He played a lot of his shots off the front foot than back, reaching to the pitch of the ball and accounting for the turn, something which the others failed to do.

He was watchful at the start, dealing in singles before targeting newbie Mohammed Faraazuddin, smacking him for two fours and a six across two overs. With momentum on his side, Chapman opened his shoulders a bit more. He pumped Zahoor Khan for back-to-back sixes to bring up his sixth T20I fifty before eventually falling in the final over.

More to follow