UAE bats first against New Zealand at T20 World Cup. Pakistan faces US

By Canadian Press on February 10, 2026.

CHENNAI, India (AP) — The United Arab Emirates won the toss and chose to bat first against New Zealand in a tough Group D game at cricket’s T20 World Cup on Tuesday.

New Zealand had already crossed the first hurdle by beating Afghanistan at the same venue in a group that also features 2024 finalist South Africa and Canada.

“It’s a tough group but we are ready for that challenge,” UAE skipper Muhammad Waseem said at the toss.

On the eve of its opening game, UAE sent batter Muhammad Zohaib back home for what it called disciplinary reasons on Monday and the Emirates Cricket Board said it will provide more details “in due course.”

New Zealand made no changes and captain Mitchell Santner said he hoped the red-soiled wicket will have some bounce to suit his three fast bowlers.

De Leede stars in Dutch first win

Earlier at New Delhi, Bas de Leede’s all-round show earned the Netherlands a seven-wicket win over Namibia in Group A.

De Leede grabbed 2-20 as the Dutch used eight bowlers and Namibia scored 156-8. De Leede then smashed four sixes and five boundaries and guided his team to 159-3 in 18 overs with an unbeaten 72 off 48 balls.

Pakistan vs. US

In the night game on Tuesday, Pakistan will take on the United States in Group A.

Pakistan escaped with a narrow three-wicket win over the Netherlands on Day 1.

The U.S. has happy memories against Pakistan from the last tournament with a sensational win in the Super Over tiebreaker in Texas in 2024.

Pakistan has reversed its decision to boycott the T20 World Cup game against India and was directed to “take the field” in Colombo on Sunday.

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Lineups:

UAE: Aryansh Sharma, Muhammad Waseem (captain), Alishan Sharafu, Mayank Kumar, Sohaib Khan, Harshit Kaushik, Muhammad Arfan, Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Rohid.

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (captain), Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

The Associated Press