U.A.E. vs New Zealand, 2nd T20I at Dubai, UAE v NZ, Aug 19 2023 - Match Result

9:40pm Right. That will be that from us for tonight. Hope you enjoyed our coverage as much as we loved bringing it to you. Be back with us tomorrow as these two teams fight it out, with the series on the line. Until next time, this is me (Shashwat) signing off on behalf of Chandan and everyone else at ESPNcricinfo. Goodbye, goodnight and take care!

Aayan Afzal Khan is the Player of the Match for his three-wicket haul: (On what he ate today) I did not eat much because I was sleeping peacefully. This (picking wickets) is what I wanted to do and happy that we could win. I am playing well and I just hope I can keep playing well and take UAE to new heights. We have big players, like Waseem and Asif - they scored today and we won comfortably.

Muhammad Waseem, the UAE captain: (On his approach) I am very happy with the performance of my team and myself. We are always trying to win well when we win. (On Asif Khan) He is a quality player. Unlucky that he made his debut late. He has experience and he promised me that he will finish the game, and he did it. (On Aayan Afzal Khan) I see a big star in him. Hopefully he can be a future star for the UAE. He does not feel pressure, irrespective of who he is facing.

Tim Southee, New Zealand captain: (What went wrong) That is the beauty of sport, lot of credit has to go to the UAE team, they outplayed us in all three facets. We were made to pay for our mistakes (today). Dropped catches are part of the game. When Waseem is playing in that mood, he has, for years, shown he is a quality player. (Recovery plan) We have to be better in all three areas. We will turn up tomorrow, in the series decider, and have another go.

Shaik: "Really Appreciate UAE batters showing lot of maturity by rotating strike and not giving any chances to Kiwis to Bounce back : ")..."

Gaurav Jain: "Just opened Cricinfo and saw UAE defeating NZ. Is this full strength NZ?" -- There are a few first-choice players missing. The likes of Chapman, Jamieson, Santner, Seifert and Southee did play today, though. All credit, thus, goes to UAE for how brave and courageous they were, and how they held their nerve, especially after a botched run-chase just days ago.

9:21pm A clinical run-chase, iced by Asif, who was excellent. He absorbed pressure and when the time came, he found the fence, knocking the stuffing out of the Kiwis. Earlier, Waseem set up the run-chase beautifully, blazing away to a 29-ball 55. Hameed and Aravind also did their bit, and this win will give the hosts plenty of confidence moving into tomorrow.

As for the Black Caps, well, they would not be pleased with the way they bowled and fielded. The pitch was not holding as much as it did in the first innings but their bowlers failed to adapt their plans. Whenever they created chances, they put them down and they allowed UAE a sniff. With the series decider slated for tomorrow, the visitors have little time to go back to the drawing board, rectify tonight's flaws and come back stronger.

Aditya: "I didn't follow, how is NZ losing against UAE?" -- NZ have not been great in the field, having dropped three (two very presentable) chances. UAE, meanwhile, have been superb in this run-chase

Just 15 needed now off 30. This is definitely UAE's game to lose now. Southee back for his final over. Could be the last throw of the dice

Tom de Sailor: "One good over from the Kiwis and UAE will be under pressure if they don't try to kill.the game early. Even 5runs in the last over can turn out to be tricky. " -- I'd think NZ need more than one good over to come back into this game now...

The ball is coming onto the bat a lot better than it did in the first innings. Most of the balls that NZ are digging into the track are not causing the batters much trouble

Neesham is back

The required run-rate is well under control and if UAE are smart about this, they should get the job done. Needless to say that only wickets will tilt this game the Kiwis' way now