UAE win toss, bat against Netherlands in T20 World Cup

GEELONG: United Arab Emirates skipper Chundangapoyil Rizwan won the toss and chose to bat against the Netherlands in the second match of the opening day of the T20 World Cup at Geelong on Sunday.

Namibia registered a shock win over Sri Lanka in the opening match and Rizwan said batting looked the better option after the Asia Cup winners were all out for 108 chasing the African side’s 163-7.

“It’s slightly tougher to chase given the way the first match turned out,” Rizwan said.

“Trying to take it one match at a time. Enjoying the challenge. Want to make a good impact in the tournament.”

Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards said he would have bowled first had he won the toss.

“Perfect. We were going to bowl,” said Edwards. “Happy days. Team is feeling great. We’re good to go and excited for this first game. We’ve got three or four guys that have played a lot of cricket in Australia.”

The teams will each play three first-round matches in their attempt to make the Super 12 stage.

‘Historic day’ as Namibia stun Sri Lanka in T20 World Cup opener

Netherlands: Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Bas de Leede, Tom Cooper, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (capt), Roelof van der Merwe, Tim Pringle, Logan van Beek, Fred Klaassen, Paul van Meekeren

United Arab Emirates: Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Chundangapoyil Rizwan (capt), Basil Hameed, Zawar Farid, Aayan Afzal Khan, Kashif Daud, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Zahoor Khan

Umpires: Paul Reiffel (AUS), Richard Kettleborough (ENG)

TV Umpire: Rod Tucker (AUS)

Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)