DELHI: The United Arab Emirates secured their first victory of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after defeating Canada by five wickets in a closely fought Group D match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday.
Chasing 151, the UAE reached the target in the final over with five wickets in hand, powered by a decisive partnership between Aryansh Sharma and Sohaib Khan.
Aryansh anchored the chase with a composed 74 off 53 balls, striking six fours and three sixes, while Sohaib provided late acceleration with a rapid 51 from 29 deliveries, including four boundaries and four maximums. Muhammad Arfan sealed the win with a boundary when only one run was required.
Earlier, UAE captain Muhammad Waseem was dismissed for four by Kaleem Sana, while Alishan Sharafu made five before falling to Saad Bin Zafar. Zafar also removed Mayank Kumar and Harshit Kaushik, finishing with excellent figures of 3/14.
Despite early wickets, the Sharma–Sohaib stand swung momentum firmly in UAE’s favour.
Canada, batting first, struggled to build partnerships and were restricted to 150-7. Harsh Thaker top-scored with 50 off 41 balls, while Navneet Dhaliwal added 34 before being run out. Shreyas Movva contributed 21, but most batters failed to make an impact.
For UAE, Junaid Siddique starred with the ball, claiming a five-wicket haul of 5/35, supported by Muhammad Jawadullah.
