Black Caps struggle to beat UAE by 19 runs in Twenty20 series-opener in Dubai

At Dubai: New Zealand 155-6 in 20 overs (Tim Seifert 55 from 34 balls, Cole McConchie 31 from 24; Junaid Siddique 2-35 from 4 overs, Basil Hameed 2-30 from 4) beat UAE 136 all out in 19.4 overs (Aryansh Sharma 60 from 43 balls; Tim Southee 5-25 from 4 overs, Mitchell Santner 2-22 from 4, Jimmy Neesham 2-15 from 3) by 19 runs.

New Zealand have narrowly survived a shock defeat in the opening game of their Twenty20 series against the United Arab Emirates.

Teenage wicketkeeper-batter Aryansh Sharma made what was looking like a match-winning 60 from 43 balls in Dubai on Friday morning (NZ time).

But when he fell, the UAE were unable to sustain their pursuit of victory as the Black Caps triumphed by 19 runs.

Black Caps skipper Tim Southee starred with the ball, taking 5-25 from his full complement of overs. Veteran allrounder Jimmy Neesham also made notable contributions with bat and ball – none more than dismissing Sharma in the 15th over.

The dashing opener took the attack to the opposition throughout, slamming nine fours and a six, displaying super strokeplay through the offside.

Without a number of first-choice regulars, the Black Caps were under pressure and breathed a huge sigh of relief when Chad Bowes took a sharp catch low down at extra-cover to remove Sharma.

Batting first after losing the toss, New Zealand struggled for early momentum despite an excellent 55 from 34 balls by opener Tim Seifert.

He struck three sixes and two fours, but his fellow top-order batters failed to contribute and when Mark Chapman fell at the start of the 13th over, the visitors were 85-5.

That they reached 155-6 was thanks to 25 from 22 balls from Neesham, 31 not out from 24 deliveries by Cole McConchie and an unbeaten 21 from 11 balls by fellow spin-bowling allrounder Rachin Ravindra.

The hosts lost captain Muhammad Waseem to the first ball of their chase when trapped lbw by Southee, but Sharma quickly took the attack to the more-favoured visiting team.

He struck three consecutive fours from Ben Lister’s first three deliveries and when he and Asif Khan took 15 from the last four balls of Kyle Jamieson’s second over, a massive upset looked on the cards as the UAE reached 59-2 at the end of their power play.

But left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner (2-22 from four overs) helped slow matters before Sharma’s dismissal proved critical as they were dismissed for 136 in the final over.