UAE vs Netherlands Prediction: Who will win today's T20 World Cup 2022 match?
The United Arab Emirates are finally back in the T20 World Cup as an enticing UAE versus Netherlands clash lights up Day 1 of the competition on Sunday, October 16 in Geelong.
Playing in the T20 World Cup for the first time since 2014, the UAE come into the competition on the back of a fighting loss to the West Indies in a warm-up fixture. Rohan Mustafa's shock omission still grabs the headlines with respect to their squad as CP Rizwan and Co. attempt to make a mark against some of the best teams in the world.
The Netherlands, on the other hand, have played seven T20Is in 2022, with five of those coming in the T20 World Cup qualifiers. Their most recent assignment, against New Zealand, saw them put up a morale-boosting performance, although they eventually drew a blank.
UAE vs Netherlands Match Prediction T20 World Cup 2022
The Netherlands' batting lineup has blown hot and cold of late. Max O'Dowd and Tom Cooper have come up with a few telling knocks and Bas de Leede has been excellent with his all-round exploits, but the unit hasn't quite come together at once. Their recent warm-up match against Scotland was a telling depiction of the same.
The UAE, meanwhile, are heavily dependent on the top order of Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri and Vriitya Aravind to score the bulk of their runs. The all-rounder department looks a little thin without Mustafa, and despite the presence of a decent amount of experience, the side is crying out for dependable names.
Both teams have decent bowling attacks. For the Netherlands, while Brandon Glover, Timm van der Gugten and Co. have been active on the County circuit recently, Roelof van der Merwe and Shariz Ahmad have chipped in with a few overs in the spin department. The UAE have the likes of Zahoor Khan and Karthik Meiyappan to call upon, while 16-year-old Aayan Afzal Khan will undoubtedly have several eyes trained on him.
Overall, while the UAE have talent in their ranks, the Netherlands are better-poised to walk away with the points on Sunday. They're simply a better outfit in the T20I format, and although it won't be an easy game by any means, the Dutch can be expected to make a winning start to this year's T20 World Cup.
Prediction: The Netherlands to win Match 2 of the 2022 T20 World Cup