New Zealand 166 for 5 (Young 56, Chapman 51, Siddique 3-26) beat UAE 134 for 7 (Aayan 42, Hameed 24*, Lister 3-35) by 32 runs
New Zealand put up a complete show as they roared back in style following the loss on Saturday to win the third T20I by 32 runs and seal the three-match series 2-1.
The coin goes Waseem’s way again
Muhammad Waseem made it three out of three at the toss and stuck to fielding first as he has all series. The UAE bowlers then backed their captain’s decision by restricting New Zealand to 38 in the powerplay while also removing the openers. Tim Seifert got off the mark with a fierce cut while Chad Bowes also got going with slash through covers. But Bowes’ joy was short-lived with Muhammad Jawadullah sending him back with a skiddy short-of-a-length ball that he could only top-edge to short third where Zahoor completed the catch on the second attempt.
Siddique then removed Seifert, who hacked his pull to the right of Hameed at deep backward square leg, the fielder sprinting low to his right and pulling off a screamer. New Zealand were more proactive in the powerplay but were only going at a run rate of just a tick over six.
Young, Chapman sizzle in the middle overs
While the start followed a similar pattern to the previous game, Young and Chapman ensured they dealt with the middle overs differently this time. Young, playing his first match of the series, got off the mark with a finely edged four off his second ball before planting Siddique over the long leg fence. Young did slow down a touch when Seifert fell but three successive fours off Hameed got him going again, and he reached his fifty off 40 balls.
Young found an ally in Chapman, with the duo adding 84 off just 60 balls for the third wicket to tilt the scales back in New Zealand’s favour. Chapman was circumspect initially but took 17 runs off a Mohammed Faraazuddin over to get into the flow. The surface seemed to be better for shot-making than the first two games and both batters capitalised on it as New Zealand moved from 55 for 2 after nine overs to 132 for 3 after 16. Chapman reached his fifty off 30 balls with five fours and two sixes as New Zealand looked set for a tall total.
Siddique three halts New Zealand’s charge
Siddique roared back in style, after having been rested from the second T20I, by picking three key wickets to keep his side in the game. He got rid of Seifert in the powerplay and then removed both Young and Chapman in the space of two overs. Young was foxed by a slower shortish slower ball that he could only spoon to extra cover while Chapman swished one straight to deep backward square leg.
Siddique’s spell halted New Zealand’s momentum at the back end. They could only score 24 runs in the last three overs which included a six off the final ball of the innings from Mitchell Santner.
New Zealand keep mistakes to a minimal
After a maiden over by Tim Southee, Ben Lister was carved away for two successive fours by Waseem. But Lister struck back immediately to catch Waseem’s outside edge. Vriitya Aravind scored a couple of cracking boundaries but he was dismissed by Kyle Jamieson as the hosts reached 40 for 2 after the powerplay.
While that was still more than what New Zealand managed in theirs, UAE could not capitalise in the middle overs. Aryansh Sharma was stumped off Santner for 16 before Adithya Ashok claimed his maiden international wicket sending back Asif Khan. Two balls later Ansh Tandon committed a near-impossible run and UAE lost 3 for 9 in 11 balls.
At 56 for 5 after 10 overs, the asking rate was always going against UAE. Hameed and Aayan did manage to keep UAE going but the big hits never arrived. There were a few boundaries from time to time but New Zealand bowled with discipline. Lister then picked two wickets in the 19th over to finish with 3 for 35 as New Zealand sealed a comfortable win.
Ashish Pant is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo