USA and UAE registered their first victory at the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 on Friday.
USA claim a dominant win over the Netherlands in Chennai while UAE beat Canada in a dramatic chase in New Delhi.
An all-round performance saw the USA claim a 93-run win over the Netherlands to open their account at the tournament. The result saw them clinch what was their first-ever T20I triumph over the Dutch.
Defending 197, the USA to put early pressure on the Netherlands in their third outing of the tournament. However, the USA struck twice again in quick succession to nab three wickets in the powerplay.
Nosthush Kenjige opened up the floodgates for the USA, striking off his first ball. Harmeet Singh then quickly doubled the advantage by getting the better of Max O'Dowd. Colin Ackermann then fell prey to the leading wicket-taker at the tournament, Shadley van Schalkwyk.
Harmeet Singh continued to shine with the ball as the spinner got the big wicket of Bas de Leede at the other side of the powerplay. The left-arm tweaker's third breakthrough came in the form of the Dutch captain Scott Edwards.
He then went on to wrap up an impressive four-wicket haul by trapping Roelof van der Merwe LBW, finishing with bowling figures of 4/21. Equally supporting him with the ball, Van Schalkwyk, who nabbed a three-for, and Mohammad Mohsin, who seized a brace.
Earlier, the Netherlands captain Scott Edwards won the toss and elected to field first. USA responded with a hefty 53/1 in powerplay, their highest score in the first six overs in T20 World Cup matches.
The USA top order have come to the party, with the top three batters all contributing to the cause. Openers Shayan Jahangir (20) and captain Monank Patel (36) set the tone for USA, while Saiteja Mukkamalla kept the pedal to the metal.
Playing his first match of this World Cup, Mukkamalla carted the ball all round the park. During a 51-ball 76, the New Jersey-born batter struck five fours and four sixes, including a superb six over cover to bring up his half-century.
Shubham Ranjane then engineered the late charge, with a whirlwind 48 in 24, to lift USA to 196/6.
It was a difficult day in the field for the Netherlands, but Bas De Leede pulled things back a little with 3/37, including the crucial wickets of Patel and Mukkamalla.
UAE beat Canada in dramatic finish
UAE registered their first win of ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 with a thrilling comeback win against Canada. Chasing a target of 151, UAE clawed back from 66/4 in 12.3 overs to push across the finish line with five wickets and two balls to spare.
Aryansh Sharma (74 not out) and Sohaib Khan (51) were the ones who brought UAE back from the brink with a 84-run partnership in just 43 balls.
After a slow start, Sharma made sure UAE ended powerplay on a positive note, scoring 17 runs in the sixth over to push his team to 39/1. He stood tall amidst the chaos, chipping away at the Canadian total to keep his team in the running. He struck six fours and three sixes on the way to the highest score by a UAE player in the T20 World Cup.
It was Sohaib Khan's 51 off 29 balls that galvanized the team. With four fours and four sixes, he took the attack to the Canadian bowlers just when they were starting to tighten the screws. UAE scored 56 runs in the last four overs to storm to the finish line.
Saad Bin Zafar was the pick of the Canadian bowlers, snapping 3/14 in his four overs.
Earlier in the day, Canada laboured to 150/7 after electing to bat.
UAE pacer Junaid Siddique pushed Canada on the back foot right away, dismissing openers Bajwa and Samra. Muhammad Jawadullah made the perfect start as he claimed the wicket of Nicholas Kirton on the very first ball of his spell as Canada ended powerplay at 39/3.
Navneet Dhaliwal and Harsh Thaker steadied the innings with a 58-run partnership. Thaker was the one that held down the fort for Canada, scoring 51 off 40 balls, with the help of three sixes and two fours. Dhaliwal contributed with 34 while Shreyas Movva chipped in with 21.
Siddique was the pick of the UAE bowlers, claiming 5/35, a first fifer for a UAE bowler in the T20 World Cup.
Source: ICC
