In a match that swung wildly from one side to the other, the United Arab Emirates registered their first victory of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 with a five-wicket win over Canada at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday.
Chasing 151, UAE were staring down the barrel at 66 for 4 in the 13th over before a blistering 84-run partnership in just 42 balls between Aryansh Sharma and Sohaib Khan turned the game on its head.
Canada, who won the toss and elected to bat, were rocked early by UAE’s pace spearhead Junaid Siddique. The Multan-born pacer claimed a career-best 5 for 35 — the best figures by a UAE bowler in T20 World Cup history — dismantling the top order and returning at the death to remove half-centurion Harsh Thaker and the lower order. Navneet Dhaliwal (34) and Thaker (50 off 41) added 58 for the fourth wicket to give Canada a fighting total of 150 for 7, but it always looked below par on a good batting surface.
UAE’s chase began cautiously but collapsed to 66/4 when Canada’s captain Saad Bin Zafar struck thrice in his economical spell (3/14), removing Muhammad Waseem, Alishan Sharafu and Mayank Kumar. With the asking rate climbing and 85 runs still needed, Sharma (74* off 53) and Sohaib Khan (51 off 29) took charge. Sohaib, in particular, turned the contest with an aggressive counter-attack — 17 runs off one Dilon Heyliger over (including two sixes) and a flurry of boundaries that brought up his fifty in just 28 balls.
The pair added 84 runs in quick time, taking the game into the final over. With eight needed off the last six balls, Sharma smashed a six off the first delivery and took a single. Sohaib fell attempting a big shot with one run required off three balls, but Muhammad Arfan calmly hit the winning boundary to seal a memorable victory with two balls to spare. This was only UAE’s second win in T20 World Cup history, following their 2022 triumph over Namibia.
