18 Years After Playing First T20I, New Zealand Lose To Associate Nation For The First time

New Zealand had played their first-ever T20I against Australia back in February 2005 in a losing cause. For the first time in 18 years of their T20I history, they have now been handed a shellacking at the hands of a non-Test playing nation.

The United Arab Emirates have defeated the Kiwis by 7 wickets in a thumping manner in the second of a three-match series at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday. The victory arrived with 26 deliveries to spare and has resulted in a series score line which now reads 1-1 with the final match go be played tomorrow at this very venue.

Facing New Zealand for the third time in international cricket, UAE have registered their first victory over them in any format. Also, this is their first-ever win in Dubai across eight T20I matches.

New Zealand Lose To Associate Nation For The First time

Not only have New Zealand been handed their first-ever loss against UAE, but it is also their only loss till date in 39 matches against non-Test playing nations or Associate nations across formats.

The biggest star of the night and the eventual ‘Player of the Match’ was 17-year-old Aayan Afzal Khan. The left-arm spinner took optimum advantage of the pitch which was holding up a tad bit, and returned with career-best figures of 4-0-20-3. Thanks to Mark Chapman’s sixth T20I half-century (63) that the visitors huffed and puffed to 142/8 at the innings break.

The ever-experienced UAE skipper Muhammed Waseem (55 off 29) decided to take the matter in his own hands early into the run-chase. What helped his cause was an ordinary Kiwi show in the field, handing him a couple of reprieves at the score of 5 and 41. By the time he was dismissed, the 29-year-old had already smashed four fours and three sixes, and the team required another 47 runs off nine overs.

Some mature batting from Asif Khan (48*) and Basil Hameed (12*) helped UAE script history and nail the target in 15.4 overs. While the Kiwis are not fielding a full-strength side in the series, their bowling line-up did consist of some experienced names in Mitchell Santner (1/26), Tim Southee (1/32), Kyle Jamieson (1/30), and James Neesham (0/24).

New Zealand Had Played The First T20I in 2005

New Zealand had played their maiden T20I against Australia during their multi-format home series in 2004/05. In fact, it was the first-ever men’s T20I match, played at the Eden Park, Auckland, on February 17, 2005.

On the back of a stellar knock off the bat of Ricky Ponting (98*), the Aussies had posted a humongous total of 214/5 on the board. In reply, the hosts could only manage to score 170 in their 20 overs, thereby losing the match by 44 runs. Scott Styris (66) was the lone half-centurion in the Kiwi run-chase.