Friday evening in Delhi was as much about the United Arab Emirates’ thrilling five-wicket win over Canada as it was about three players from diverse backgrounds recording their best-ever international performances.

Steered by Siddique’s career-best figures, UAE appeared far more settled with the ball on a used Kotla strip, constricting the Canadians to only 150, just days after their stinging 10-wicket defeat to New Zealand in Chennai. Making up for his erratic lines during Tuesday’s game, Siddique’s subtler variations helped him walk away with a five-wicket haul (5/35), a feat only achieved once before by an Associate player at the World Cup.

For a fledgling unit still settling into the rigours of high-intensity cricket, a batting collapse was the concern of the afternoon.

Mohammed Waseem wore a glum face after the entire middle order was incapacitated by some old-school lofted left-arm spin from Canada’s 39-year-old Saad Bin Zafar after his early dismissal in the Powerplay. The skipper knew that this was a team that had largely relied on his nous and muscle up until recently. Only three days ago, his unbeaten 66 against a quality Kiwi attack had fuelled UAE hopes of realising an improbable dream. The target did not seem out of reach even when he skied a slog to the edge of the circle in the third over. But an inspired spell from Zafar (3 for 14), Canada’s captain in their first World Cup appearance in 2024, had left Waseem and Co. searching for that special association to seal the game.

As the evening grew intense at the Feroz Shah Kotla grounds, in the same city of personal significance, it was up to Aryansh and Sohaib to stage a riposte. Forced to hold one end throughout the Powerplay and beyond with UAE slipping to 66 for four in 13 overs, the 21-year-old Aryansh soothed the nerves in his camp with his sustained maturity. Two years on since his superb format initiation with a half-century against New Zealand, then the second-youngest keeper to achieve the feat on debut, Aryansh brought up his fifth fifty with a forceful smite over long-on in the 14th over.

Good partnership

The skyrocketing asking rates and a belief in the supple arms of his partner, Sohaib, helped the pair to rearrange the pivot.

“Aryansh was so confident that his positivity was coming to me that, no, we can do it,” said Sohaib, who had appeared in three T20Is and faced only 11 deliveries since his debut in November 2025.

Launching his third ball for a six over long-on, Sohaib built on the pep talk. The pair still dug the chase deep and waited until the return of true pace on the ball before cutting loose. Sohaib soon clubbed three meaty sixes and two boundaries in the V in overs 17 and 18, before Aryansh reeled in the shot of the evening. With 26 needed off 12, the opener smeared Canada left-armer Khaleel Sana, scooping a fuller delivery with a rasping shot through the cover pocket.

A swatted six off the first ball in the final over had Aryansh celebrate extrovertedly with the same confidence he had carried all along in his stand with Sohaib. A win beckoned under the Delhi lights in three more deliveries. Siddique, Aryansh, and Sohaib had written themselves into history by then, far from the homes they once imagined representing, but leaving something just as powerful for UAE to cherish.

Brief Scores: Canada 150/7 in 20 overs (Harsh Thaker 50, Navneet Dhaliwal 34; Junaid Siddique 5/35) lost to UAE 151/5 in 19.4 overs (Aryansh Sharma 74 not out, Sohaib Khan 51 not out; Saad Bin Zafar 3/14) by five wickets.