ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 | Match 11: New Zealand vs United Arab Emirates | Preview and Predictions

A classic David vs Goliath battle, the high-flying New Zealand team faces the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in their second game of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup with the Kiwis looking to remain unbeaten while the UAE will look to start their World Cup campaign with a big upset.

Here, we present our preview and predictions for the game.

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 | Match 11: NZ vs UAE | 15:00, February 10, 2026

New Zealand started their campaign in strong fashion, chasing down a big total against the spin attack of Afghanistan on a turning Chennai track. With the bat, the Kiwis were clinical, barring a mini collapse at the start of their innings which saw Finn Allen and Rachin Ravindra head back to pavilion inside two overs. Tim Seifert’s 65 along with blazing 42 from Glenn Philips saw New Zealand in the end chase down 183 with two overs to go. On a track which was gripping at the start, the New Zealand  batters got on top of the spinning ball well and playing in Chennai again will be a welcome sign for the Kiwis. The only worry with the bat for New Zealand will be Ravindra’s form, who has been struggling for some time now.

With the ball, Matt Henry was economical but the likes of Jacob Duffy and Lockie Ferguson went for some runs, especially on a track which held up a bit, whenever pace was provided to the batters, they made the most of it. The slower bowlers and spinners, the likes of James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra all kept things in check even though they didn’t pick up wickets. 

The UAE suffered losses in both their warm up games and will be looking to turn things around in the main officials. The UAE will be heavily dependent on the likes of Aryansh Sharma, their captain Muhammad Waseem, Sohaib Khan and Alishan Sharafu  to step up with the bat in conditions which won’t be totally alien to them. Junaid Siddique and Haider Ali have been the pick of the bowlers off late for UAE and they will hope that the rest of the bowling unit steps up, especially after having two expensive warm up game outings.

Chennai has been a spinner’s paradise and it should favour the slow bowlers once again with New Zealand’s superior squad giving them the edge in this encounter against the minnows. 

Fantasy XI: Tim Seifert (c+wk), Aryansh Sharma, Rachin Ravindra, Alishan Sharafu, Muhammad Waseem, Glenn Philips, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (vc), Haider Ali, Lockie Ferguson, Junaid Siddique

Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai

Winners Prediction: New Zealand