UAE vs New Zealand, 1st T20I, Live Updates: UAE Win Toss, Opt To Bowl Against New Zealand

UAE vs NZ, 1st T20I, Live Updates:United Arab Emirates skipper Muhammed Waseem won the toss and opted to bowl against New Zealand in the first T20I of the three-match series on Thursday in Dubai. The Blackcaps will be playing their first T20I match since April and will look to prepare for the upcoming series against England and the T20 World Cup 2024. Interestingly, the two teams have never played a T20I match against each other before and this will be first time that New Zealand and UAE will be squaring off against each other in the shortest format. (Live Scorecard)

New Zealand (Playing XI) - Tim Seifert, Chad Bowes, Dane Cleaver (WK), Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, James Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Cole McConchie, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee (C), Benjamin Lister.

United Arab Emirates (Playing XI) - Muhammad Waseem (C), Aryansh Sharma (WK), Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Ansh Tandon, Basil Hameed, Ali Naseer, Aayan Khan, Mohammed Faraazuddin, Junaid Siddique, Zahoor Khan.

TOSS - The coin toss lands in the favour of Muhammad Waseem and the United Arab Emirates have opted to BOWL first.

On the flip side, New Zealand's last T20I assignment in Pakistan ended on level terms, which was a positive result for them considering they lost the first two games. Heading into this series, the visitors will have one eye on the Men's T20I World Cup scheduled to be played in the Caribbean and the USA next year. Like the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand have some fresh faces in their side who will be getting their first taste of international cricket. Tim Southee and Co. do start as favourites, but can they live up to that tag? Or does the United Arab Emirates have an upset in store for us? Stick around to find out, as the toss and team news