NZ vs PAK 1st T20, PAK vs NZ 2023

Earlier in the day, after electing to bat first, the accustomed pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan was troubled by some early movement by Matt Henry and Adam Milne. The right-handed Rizwan survived a few outside edges early on before Milne trapped him in front with an exceptional in-swinger. He drew first blood for New Zealand as Rizwan had to walk back for 8(10). 

Fakhar Zaman walked in at number three but he too was beaten by the sideways movement generated by the Kiwi pacers. However, the southpaw did not take long enough to get into his natural element and collect back-to-back boundaries in the fourth over. The New Zealand bowlers were also quick to respond as Adam Milne cleaned up the Pakistan skipper Babar 9(7) with a fiery delivery. 

Following Babar’s departure, Saim Ayub got together with Zaman and the duo started the acceleration process. Both the batters carved the gaps perfectly initially before going all guns blazing near the halfway stage of the innings. The 79-run partnership between the left-handed duo was halted by a run-out as Ayub had to walk back for 47(28). 

Pakistan went on a bit of a  rollercoaster ride after Ayub’s wicket. The men in green kept losing wickets at regular intervals but they also assured the run rate kept growing. Faheem Ashraf chipped in with a crucial 22(16) and Haris Rauf also added 11(5) to take Pakistan past 180. Matt Henry bagged his maiden T20I hat-trick and finished his stint on 3/32. 

In pursuit of a competitive total of 183, New Zealand were off to a shaky start inside the powerplay. The Kiwi top order was outclassed by the movement generated off the deck and the visitors lost three wickets inside the powerplay by adding only 30 runs to the total. Chad Bowes 1(5) was the first one to return back as the right-hander was outwitted by Zaman Khan. That was soon followed by the wicket of Will Young 2(7) as Shaheen Shah got the better of him.

Daryl Mitchell 11(5) showed some signs of aggression but he too departed playing a false shot inside the powerplay. Following his wicket, the wickets kept tumbling for New Zealand at regular intervals and they were unable to build a partnership. There was a little partnership between Latham and Chapman but it was Haris Rauf who trapped the Kiwi skipper in front. Chapman 34(27)  pushed the pedal but the southpaw departed in the process.

Haris Rauf was quick to wrap up the tail and bagged her career-best T20I figures of 4/17. Imad Wasim bowled only one over but the left-arm spinner extracted two wickets out of that. So, eventually, it was a comprehensive victory for Pakistan and they take a 1-0 lead in the series momentarily. Stick around for the post-match presentation!