T20 World Cup: New Zealand openers have an afternoon party at Chepauk

Chennai: New Zealand are showing why they are one of the best teams of the T20 World Cup. After beating Afghanistan easily in the first game, they didn’t put a foot wrong on Tuesday afternoon to take down UAE by 10 wickets in the MA Chidambaram Stadium. With South Africa also in the group, things can get tight later. So, the NRR boost (+1.9) that they got, should stand the Black Caps in good stead going forward.

UAE put up a fight with the bat and their second-wicket partnership of 107 runs off 77 balls between Muhammad Waseem (66*, 45balls; 4x4, 6x3) and Alishan Sharafu (55, 47balls; 5x4, 2x6) helped them reach a respectable 173-6. But whatever promise that effort held was swiftly eclipsed by New Zealand openers Tim Seifert (89*, 42balls; 12x4, 3x6) and Finn Allen (84*, 50balls; 5x4, 5x6), who erased the target in 15.2 overs all by themselves.




Seifert and Allen lit up Chepauk as the sun dipped at the far end. It was the highest stand for any wicket in a men’s T20 World Cup. Seifert, who continued his rich vein of form with a second successive half-century in the campaign, said the familiarity with Allen made the partnership seamless.

“We’ve been with each other way back in the New Zealand academies during the winter, so we’ve known each other for a long time now. It’s nice to open the batting together. We’ve played against each other a lot in domestic cricket and we’re best mates off the field. We just enjoy the cricket, look to put pressure on the bowlers and, most importantly, have fun,” Seifert said after the match.

They did exactly that, putting the bowlers under constant ‘pressure’ and leaving them boundary-scorched. The pair began cautiously: the first eight balls of their innings brought four singles and four dot balls. After that, it was complete mayhem, with sixes and fours flowing as New Zealand knocked off 78 runs from the target in the Powerplay itself. While Seifert unfurled a couple of audacious reverse sweeps against the UAE spinners, Allen countered the pace with clean, down-the-ground shots.

And fittingly, Seifert closed the show with a towering straight six to cap an evening of pure fireworks that enthralled the 17,000 fans in attendance.

Earlier, UAE’s Waseem and Sharafu made the most of the red-soil surface, with the even-paced pitch allowing the ball to come onto the bat nicely. The pair displayed clinical, versatile batting and unfurled a range of strokes, including the occasional eye-pleasing upper cut, to keep the New Zealand bowlers under pressure and expose gaps in their attack.

New Zealand’s attempts to wrest back control, including a turn to spin, backfired. Glenn Phillips endured a torrid outing, conceding 27 runs in the 18th over. Though the UAE lost four wickets in the final five overs, they still added 51 runs to post their highest total in T20 World Cup history.

Brief scores: UAE 173-6 in 20 overs (M Waseem 66*, A Sharafu 55). New Zealand 175-0 in 15.2 overs (T Seifert 89*, F Allen 84*). NZ won by 10 wickets.

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