Ghulam shabber

Skipper Muhammad Waseem: Skipper Muhammad Waseem’s highest individual score and Alishan Sharafu’s fifties helped the United Arab Emirates post their highest T20 World Cup total of 173/6 against New Zealand in the Group C match of the 2026 edition, here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Opting to bat first, UAE suffered an early setback as Aryansh Sharma (8) departed in the second over courtesy of brilliant bowling by Jacob Duffy.

Skipper Waseem then joined hands with Alishan Sharafu and led the UAE’s batting with a notable second-wicket partnership. They put together 107 runs, which is now the second-highest second-wicket stand for the UAE in T20Is. Their partnership now ranks just behind the national record of 111 runs by Ashfaq Ahmed and Ghulam Shabber against the Netherlands in The Hague in 2019.