New Zealand beat UAE by 10 wickets on Tuesday, February 10 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai to continue their winning run in the T20 World Cup 2026. Tim Seifert (89* off 42) and Finn Allen (84* off 50) flexed their batting muscles against a hapless UAE attack. dominant display.
Asked to chase a target of 174, New Zealand got off to a measured start as left-arm spinner Haider Ali conceded just eight runs in his first two overs. However, the bowlers at the other end failed to stem the flow of runs, allowing both batsmen to bat with increasing confidence. Allen was the main aggressor early in the innings as he brought up his half-century from just 23 balls, blasting Haider Ali for a boundary in the seventh over.
FIFA World Cup T20 2026: NZ vs UAE Highlights
Two overs later, Tim Seifert scored his own fifty off 27 balls as the duo continued to massacre the UAE bowlers with fearless stroke play and clean hitting. They built their chair in just 51 balls, leaving the UAE bowlers scratching their heads trying to find answers.
The fireworks continued from both their blades as New Zealand finally flew over the line with ease to record a massive ten-wicket victory. Seifert and Allen also registered the highest opening partnership for New Zealand in T20I history, breaking the long-standing record held by Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson in 2016.
NZ climb to the top of Group D
Guptill and Williamson added 171 runs off 106 balls for the opening wicket against Pakistan in 2016. Meanwhile, Seifert and Allen stitched together a mammoth 175 runs from just 92 balls to send New Zealand to the top of Group D with two points to their credit and an impressive net run rate of +1.91. It was also the highest partnership in T20 World Cup history for any wicket.
Earlier in the day, half-centuries from captain Muhammad Waseem (66* off 45) and Alishan Sharafa (55 off 47) took UAE to 173/6 in their 20 overs. The duo were involved in a massive 107-run stand off 77 balls for the second wicket after Jacob Duffy removed Aryansh Sharma (8 off 6) cheaply.
After Sharafu fell to Mitchell Santner, Mayank Kumar (21 off 13) also made a valuable contribution to help his team cross the 170-run mark alongside skipper Waseem. For New Zealand, Matt Henry emerged as the pick of the bowlers, taking figures of 2/37 from his four overs.
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Issued by:
Rishabh Beniwal
Published on:
February 10, 2026
