DELHI: Canada recovered from an early wobble to post 150-7 in 20 overs against the United Arab Emirates at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday, with Harsh Thaker’s 50 providing the backbone of the innings.
Asked to bat first after winning the toss, Canada stumbled inside the powerplay as captain Dilpreet Bajwa fell for 11 and Yuvraj Samra departed for five, leaving them 19-2. A further blow followed when Nicholas Kirton edged behind for four, reducing Canada to 38-3 at the first drinks break.
Openers’ momentum was rebuilt through a steady passage led by Navneet Dhaliwal (34 off 28) and Thaker, who combined to lift Canada beyond the halfway mark. Dhaliwal’s innings ended in frustration when he was run out at 96-4, but Thaker continued to anchor the innings and reached his half-century from 41 balls, striking two fours and three sixes.
Canada’s late surge was checked by a flurry of wickets, including Shreyas Movva (21) and Saad Bin Zafar (5) in the final over.
For the UAE, Junaid Siddique led the attack with a five-wicket haul (5/35), while Muhammad Jawadullah returned economical figures of 1/16.
