In the season’s first Twenty20 International at Eden Park, Auckland, on Friday, New Zealand defeated Pakistan by 46 runs, ruining Shaheen Afridi’s debut as the shortest format skipper.
The Green Shirts got off to a terrific start because of Saim Ayub’s amazing 27-run innings off of just 8 runs, but they were unable to sustain that momentum or win.
After 12.4 overs, the visitors had a chance to chase the goal at 130-4, but Azam Khan’s subpar batting performance made matters worse for them.
Fakhar Zaman (15 off 10), Iftikhar Ahmed (24 off 17), and Azam Khan (10 off 9) were the Men in Green’s underperformers with the bat.
Former captain Babar Azam led the losing side in scoring with 57 runs off just 35 balls, but his total fell short of the enormous mark the Black Caps set.
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After collecting three wickets, Tim Southee secured his 150th T20I wicket; Ben Sears and Adam Milne split the other two.
Early in the first inning, New Zealand’s two best batsmen, Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson, scored 57 and 61 runs, respectively.
Babar Azam spared Williamson’s life when he was eleven years old. The captain of New Zealand made the most of his opportunity and finished with an incredible half-century.
The 33-year-old created space for players like Mitchell (61 off 27) and Finn Allen (35 off 15), who both hit for strike rates of 255 and 233 and can score runs with their bats, although not having an exceptional 135.71 strike rate.
Mark Chapman went 11 deliveries without a six and two fours, so he did well down the order.
The only two bowlers from Pakistan who bowled quite well were Abbas Afridi and Haris Rauf, who both had an economy rate of 8.50. The bowlers who were left out of the competition were eliminated.
Afridi was unable to sustain his form after collecting a wicket in the opening over of the innings and ultimately gave up 46 runs while capturing three wickets.
Usama Mir was hit for 51 runs in just four overs by Aamer Jamal, who conceded 56 runs.
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