New Zealand made a statement with a victory over Pakistan in their first engagement of the bilateral series.
Pakistan might feel that once again they had their moments but were blighted by missed opportunities.
The series moves to Hamilton’s Seddon Park where New Zealand have won nine of 13 matches contested with one of those ending in a tie. Pakistan have lost all three T20Is they have played at Seddon Park.
To Win Match
New Zealand 57/100 | Tie 25/1 | Pakistan 29/20
New Zealand swapped out Tim Seifert for Devon Conway but the returning batter wound up getting a first baller in Auckland.
Instead, it was Daryl Mitchell’s brutal knock that lifted New Zealand after Kane Williamson did a fine job of lifting the team.
The form of both Williamson and Mitchell will be a big plus for the Black Caps who have some top-order uncertainty in the format.
Tim Southee also showed the value of veteran bowlers in the T20 format with his key spells that took the wind out of Pakistan.
For Pakistan, the two debutants did well to come in and make an immediate impression.
Abbas Afridi got a big wicket at a key moment after several chances had been spilled or missed by Pakistan. He would end up being the pick of the Pakistan bowlers with his 3 for 34.
Meanwhile, Saim Ayub played an incredible cameo innings before his brutal blitz was brought to a premature end. Pakistan has Babar Azam to do the Williamson job with the bat but they couldn’t find the big finish as wickets kept falling.
While skipper Shaheen Afridi bowled well, the effort in the field from the senior players left a lot to be desired and threw his leadership of the team into question.
Verdict: New Zealand 57/100
New Zealand have the momentum and should take advantage of that.
