Canada and UAE aim to reset T20 World Cup campaigns

Both Canada and the UAE will look to reset their campaigns when they meet in Group D. Heavy defeats in their opening matches have left them chasing early ground, turning this fixture into an opportunity not just for points but for restoration of belief.

Canada were comprehensively beaten by South Africa, who posted 213 for 4 before restricting Canada to 156 for 8. The bowling unit struggled to contain the flow once South Africa accelerated. Although Navneet Dhaliwal offered resistance with a half-century, the chase never gathered momentum. The defeat highlighted the need for sharper execution with the ball and more collective assurance with the bat.

The UAE's result was similarly one-sided, though there were encouraging signs with the bat. After posting 173 for 6 against New Zealand, they were powerless as the target was chased down without the loss of a wicket. While their batting showed enterprise, the bowling lacked penetration and control against a high-quality opposition. As with Canada, the task is about recalibrating quickly for a more rounded performance.

When: Friday, February 13 at 3:00 PM Local Time

Where: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi

What to expect: This will be the third match played in Delhi. The first, which started at 11 AM, saw the Netherlands chase down Namibia's 156 with overs to spare. Namibia's captain described it as "a tacky wicket" in the morning. With this game starting in the afternoon, bowlers may not find as much assistance.

Head to head: Canada and the UAE have met only once in T20Is, during the 2019 T20 World Cup qualifiers, when the UAE won by 14 runs.

Team News:

• Canada: Jaskaran Singh and Saad Bin Zafar were expensive against New Zealand. Canada may bring in Shivam Sharma in place of one of them.

  • Probable XI: Yuvraj Samra, Dilpreet Bajwa (c), Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva (wk), Harsh Thaker, Saad Bin Zafar, Jaskaran Singh/Shivam Sharma, Dilon Heyliger, Kaleem Sana, Ansh Patel

• UAE: The UAE might look to strengthen their bowling by bringing in Muhammad Farooq or Simranjeet Singh in place of Muhammad Arfan.

  • Probable XI: Aryansh Sharma (wk), Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Mayank Kumar, Sohaib Khan, Harshit Kaushik, Muhammad Arfan/Muhammad Farooq/Simranjeet Singh, Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Rohid Khan

Quotes:

"Obviously playing against South Africa it was a massive boost for a country like Canada and it'll just help us in the future" – Harsh Thaker

"We were good as a batting team, I think we did not bowl well as much as we can. I think we did not bowl with our plan" – Muhammad Waseem