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UAE cricketer Aayan Afzal Khan, whose sensational spell of bowling ushered them to a landmark T20I win over New Zealand in Dubai on Saturday (August 19), intends to take his side to greater heights. The left-arm spinner revealed that he enjoyed Mitchell Santner's wicket the most out of the three he took.
Aayan struck twice in his second over of the match, with Santner becoming his first victim as the ball spun back sharply to hit the stumps. The very next ball saw Dane Cleaver lose his stumps, while opener Chad Bowes departed in the 7th over of the innings.
Following the match, Aayan, who finished with figures of 4-0-20-3, stated that Santner's wicket was critical mainly because it came in the powerplay. The 17-year-old felt thrilled to play a central role in UAE's win.
As quoted by ESPN Cricinfo, he said:
"Because that was a very good ball, and was also in the powerplay and was an important wicket. I am feeling very happy. I got a chance in the powerplay and I got a wicket. I was trying to get the batters out. I am playing well now and will want to play like this in future as well. I want to take UAE far ahead. We have the capability to beat better teams in future."
The youngster also revealed that he dedicates his performance to his newly-born son. He added:
"I am very happy with my team's and my own performance. I always try that whenever we win, we do it convincingly and I make a big contribution towards it. I want to dedicate this win to my newly-born son."
After limiting New Zealand to only 142, the hosts chased down the total in only 15.4 overs, thanks to Asif Khan's unbeaten 29-ball 48. However, it was skipper Muhammad Waseem, who top-scored with 55.
"Lot of the credit has to go to the UAE team" - Tim Southee after New Zealand's loss
New Zealand skipper Tim Southee admitted that they repeated mistakes from the first game and that UAE made them pay on this occasion. He said:
"A lot of the credit has to go to the UAE team. They outplayed us in all three facets and we know in T20 cricket if it's not your day, then anything can happen. We probably didn't learn enough from the other day, we made a few mistakes that were similar to the other day and we were made to pay for that. We just have to be bettered in all three areas."
The third and deciding T20I between UAE and New Zealand will take place on Sunday, August 20.
