Pakistan stumbled in their T20 series opener as they embarked on a new journey.
“I’m excited about the new players, and I hope they do something amazing,” said Pakistan’s new captain, Salman Ali Agha, during the toss. But right from the start, those hopes were dashed. The revamped Pakistan side couldn’t even manage to score 100 runs due to batting failures. New Zealand cruised to an easy win.
With the absence of experienced players like Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan traveled to New Zealand for the series, hoping for a fresh start. However, the replacement players couldn’t make up for the lack of experience in the first T20.
At Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Sunday, Pakistan was dismissed for just 91 runs. New Zealand comfortably won by 9 wickets, chasing down the target in just 10.1 overs, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
This was the first time Pakistan had been bowled out for under 100 runs in a T20 match against New Zealand.
Several key players from the New Zealand side were also absent due to their participation in the IPL, but under Michael Bracewell’s leadership, they started the series brilliantly.
New Zealand’s Kyle Jamieson was the star of the show, making an impactful return to international T20 cricket after almost two years. He bowled a career-best performance, taking 3 wickets for just 8 runs.
After losing the toss and being put to bat, Pakistan’s Mohammad Haris was dismissed in the first over without scoring. Jamieson bowled him out without letting him get off the mark.
In the next over, debutant Hasan Nawaz was dismissed by Jacob Duffy, also for a duck. This marked the second time in the same match that Pakistan’s openers went back to the dressing room without scoring any runs.
Jamieson continued to dominate, dismissing Irfan Khan and Shadab Khan in consecutive overs. Pakistan was in serious trouble, losing 4 wickets for just 11 runs.
Pakistan’s woes could’ve worsened further, but in the seventh over, Tim Seifert dropped a catch off Bracewell’s delivery to let Khushdil Shah off the hook. In the following over, Daryl Mitchell failed to catch a ball off Salman Ali’s bat at slip.
Taking advantage of the reprieve, Salman and Khushdil put together a 46-run partnership. But despite surviving the early onslaught, they couldn’t stabilize the innings. Salman was dismissed for 18 runs off 20 balls, caught off Sodhi’s delivery in the 12th over.
In the next over, Khushdil, Pakistan’s highest scorer with 32 runs, was dismissed by Duffy. The left-handed all-rounder hit 3 sixes in his 30-ball innings.
Pakistan managed to avoid their lowest total thanks to Jahanzaib Khan’s 17 runs, but they still fell short of 100.
Duffy’s outstanding bowling performance helped New Zealand to victory, as he finished with 4 wickets for 14 runs.
New Zealand wasted no time chasing the small target. In the powerplay, Seifert smashed 44 runs off 29 balls, including 7 fours and 1 six.
Seifert’s fiery start helped New Zealand reach 53 runs in the first 6 overs. Fin Allen and Tim Robinson then guided the team to victory, adding 39 runs off 26 balls to finish the match with ease. Allen contributed 29 runs off 17 balls, including 2 fours and 2 sixes.
The two teams will face off again in the second match of the series in Dunedin on Tuesday.
Match Summary:
- Pakistan: 91 all out in 18.4 overs (Haris 0, Nawaz 0, Salman 18, Irfan 1, Shadab 3, Khushdil 32, Samad 7, Jahanzaib 17, Afridi 1, Abrar 2, Ali 1*; Jamieson 4-1-8-3, Duffy 3.4-0-14-4, Fox 3-0-11-1, Bracewell 4-0-28-0, Sodhi 4-0-27-2)
- New Zealand: 92/1 in 10.1 overs (Seifert 44, Allen 29*, Robinson 18*; Afridi 2-0-17-0, Ali 3-0-25-0, Jahanzaib 1-0-16-0, Abrar 2.1-0-15-1, Shadab 2-0-18-0)
Result: New Zealand won by 9 wickets
Man of the Match: Kyle Jamieson
Series: New Zealand leads 1-0 in the five-match series
