The United Arab Emirates beat Netherlands by five wickets with six balls remaining in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 at the ICC Academy, Dubai, on 31 October 2026. Chasing 264, the UAE reached 266/5 in 49 overs. Player of the match Akshdeep Nath made 99 off 88 balls, with five fours and four sixes.
How It Unfolded
Netherlands won the toss and chose to bat. Max O'Dowd led the innings with 106 off 119 balls, hitting 10 fours and three sixes before he was out lbw. Scott Edwards finished unbeaten on 94 off 95 balls and Colin Ackermann added 34 not out off 40 as Netherlands closed on 263/4. Aayan Afzal Khan was the pick of the UAE bowlers with 3/48 from his 10 overs. Muhammad Rohid conceded only 28 from his 10 overs, two of them maidens, and took 1/28.
In the chase, Akshdeep Nath was out lbw one short of a century, but by then the UAE were in control. Adeeb Usmani carried the innings to the end with 81 not out off 93 balls. Sohaib Khan made 28 and Muhammad Waseem a brisk 19 off 13 balls. Bas de Leede took 2/44 for Netherlands, and Colin Ackermann, Paul van Meekeren and Aryan Dutt took one wicket each. Dutt's 10 overs cost 39.
The Oracle's Call
The CricMind Oracle locked Netherlands as favourites at 72% before the toss, with the UAE at 28%, so this call was missed. The UAE came in with five straight defeats and had won only one of their five previous ODI meetings with Netherlands, which made this a clear upset by the Oracle's numbers. The full Oracle call shows the factors behind it.
What's Next
The win follows the UAE's four-wicket victory in the 141st match, and leaves the UAE 2-0 up against Netherlands in this series. Results across the competition are on the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 hub.
Source: Scorecard and the Oracle call.