T20 World Cup | Ishan Kishan Press Conference: Indian batting collapses in fifty against Namibia
Opener Aryansh Sharma, who has had a solid start and has already scored 44, stood tall at one end.What had once looked like an easy 151 chase suddenly felt like it was slipping out of their hands.Then came Sohaib Khan. All UAE needed was someone to partner Aryansh. Sohaib provided that impetus. Facing Dillon Heyliger, he drove in 17 runs in the 17th and added 13 runs in the 18th.The equation was simple: they needed 26 from 12 balls to win the game and get their first points on the board.Aryansh watched his partner dominate the bowler and joined the group as he brought the equation closer to victory by 18 runs. A six from the first ball of the 19th over ended Canada’s dreams of opening their account in the tournament. Sohaib fell to Jaskarandeep Singh with the score but it was no more than a consolation.Earlier, UAE right-arm pace spearhead Junaid Siddique tore through the Canadian bat with a testing spell of pace and bounce on a surface that offered just enough to keep the batting fair. At no stage did the Canadian innings find a sustained pace.When the drinks appeared for the second time at the end of the 14th over, Canada had just reached 100 for four – a recovery of sorts after a torturous start.Canada’s decision to bat first after winning the toss looked questionable as they slumped to 39 for three in the over. Timing the ball was difficult. Hitting boundaries was rare and the first six overs showed that, with only four fours and no sixes flying off the Canada willows.In fact, the entire innings produced only four sixes, three of which were hit by Harsh Thaker.Thaker, 28, has been a spearhead in the revival of the middle order. First alongside Navneet Dhaliwal (34) and later with Shreyas Movva (21), Thaker pulled Canada out of danger and put them in a fighting position.Meanwhile, Dhaliwal’s dismissal was unfortunate and interesting. A direct hit at the keeper’s end caught him by surprise, his bat stuck in the ground just beyond the goal line and his right leg still in the air.The verdict went against him with a score of 96 for four.However, the last six overs belonged to Siddique. The momentum of the comeback waned as wickets fell in bunches.Thaker (50), Movva and Saad Bin Zafar (5) all fell to Siddique, who had removed Yuvraj Samra (5) and Dilpreet Bajwa (11) earlier in the innings.Siddique’s spell of 5/35 culminated in the tournament’s second five-wicket haul at the 2026 T20 World Cup as his ability to generate sharp pace and nasty bounce forced mis-strikes, with all his victims caught in the field.Short Score: Canada 150/7 in 20 overs (Harsh Thaker 50, Navneet Dhaliwal 34; Junaid Siddique 5/35, Muhammad Jawadullah 1/16)United Arab Emirates 151/5 in 19.4 overs (Aryansh Sharma 74 not out, Sohaib Khan 51; Saad Bin Zafar 3/14)UAE won by five wickets