New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS) UAE captain Muhammad Waseem praised his side’s belief and resilience after their five-wicket win over Canada in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, while also calling for improvements in batting during the middle overs. At the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Friday, Aryansh Sharma’s 74 not out and Sohaib Khan’s 51 helped UAE chase down 151 with two balls to spare.

“To be honest, the situation was simple. I went inside during the break and told them (Aryansh and Sohaib) to keep believing in themselves. They showed the world their ability, and the way they played makes me very happy for them,” Waseem said after the match ended.

He acknowledged that the team needed to sharpen its approach between overs seven and 16. “I think we have to improve our batting in the middle overs, specifically from the 7th to the 16th over. We need to look after that phase. Inshallah, we will work on that for the upcoming games because that is one part of the match where we need to improve,” he said.

Waseem also lauded pacer Junaid Siddique, who claimed 5-35 to restrict Canada to 150. “I’m very happy for him. He is a very experienced bowler and the leader of our bowling attack. He took five wickets today, and I think he will keep that momentum going in the upcoming games,” he said.

Siddique, named Player of the Match, said he had worked closely with coaches to adapt to the conditions. “The pitch was good. We worked with our coaches on how to bowl in these conditions. I wanted to hit the hard lengths and try to mix things up with slower balls. I was trying to bowl some quicker balls and then go for my best slower balls into the wicket,” he said.

Reflecting on Canada’s innings, Siddique added, “In the first innings, we thought they might be going for 160 or 170. We bowled very well in the last few overs and knew that 150 was a chaseable total.”

Canada skipper Dilpreet Bajwa appreciated the fifties hit by Aryansh and Sohaib. “We were expecting 160 or 170, but since we lost early wickets, we were happy with 150. We knew it would be a hard total to chase in the second innings, but Sohaib and Aryansh played very well. I think the dew factor always helps the chase. We didn’t expect it to come into play here, but it helped them as the ball didn’t spin as much.”

Asked where Canada fell behind in the game, Bajwa said, “When we were taking wickets, we didn’t manage to keep the momentum going. That is where we lacked. Our fast bowlers didn’t stick to their plans, and that cost us the game. Our spinners and middle order are doing very well. We are just expecting our top order to get some runs and our fast bowlers to find their lines again.”

–IANS

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