PAK vs NZ 2nd T20I Match Highlights: Babar Azam led Pakistan defeated Michael Bracewell’s New Zealand in a thrilling one sided game by seven wickets with 47 balls to spare in the second T20 International of the five match series at Rawalpindi’s Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
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Pakistan’s Wicketkeeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan, who became the quickest player to score 3,000 runs in the shortest format of the game, played a key role for his side as he top scored for the Shaheens with his inning of 45 runs and once again proved why he is regarded as one of the most important players for the Pakistani Men’s National Cricket team
Chasing a low total of 91 runs, the home side were handed a blow in the very first over of their inning as opening batsman Saim Ayib got dismissed on the second delivery of the inning for just four runs.
Post the dismissal of Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan walked out to bat at number three and was hoping to build a partnership with Babar (14 runs) at the other end but the skipper didn’t stay at the crease for a long time as he had to walk back to the pavilion thanks to a magical delivery by Michael Bracewell.
Following the dismissal of Babar Azam, Usman Khan, who recently switched his Cricket board from the UAE to Pakistan, was knocked over by leg spinner Ish Sodhi for a mere seven runs. However, Usman’s wicket was the last one to fall as the duo of Irfan Khan Niazi and Mohammad Rizwan helped Pakistan get over the line against the Kiwis
The two batsmen got involved in a partnership of 36 runs as Irfan contributed 18 runs with the bat while Rizwan remained unbeaten at 45 runs. The Men in Green now lead the five match T20i series 1-0 after the first game was washed out due to rain.
Earlier in the New Zealand inning, the home side’s bowling unit looked in some really good form as they bowled out the entire Black Caps team for a total of just 90 runs in 18.1 overs
The Kiwis were never in the game as they faced a lot of difficulties against the seam bowling unit of the Shaheens.
In the third over of the New Zealand inning, Pakistan’s former T20i skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi, known for extracting a good amount of movement with the new ball, sent Kiwi opener Tim Seifert back to the dugout as he scored just 12 runs.
Mohammad Amir from the other end, who was playing his first International game for Pakistan after a gap of almost four years, dismissed the other opener Tim Robinson for just four runs in his first over. The 29 year old continued to increase difficulties for the visitors as he dismissed Dean Foxcroft in his second over as captain Babar Azam took a simple catch.
The visitors managed to prevent further dismissals till the next two overs of their inning but spinner Abrar Ahmed took two scalps in quick fashion in the ninth over, dismissing the likes of Jimmy Neesham (one run) and Mark Chapman (19 runs).
Naseem Shah and Shadab Khan applied the finishing touches as the Black Caps got bundled out for 90 runs. Just four Kiwi batters managed to score double digit runs as the home side dominated the game with the ball.
Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed three batters, while the likes of Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir and Shadab Khan picked two wickets each. Naseem Shah managed to dismiss just a single batter.
New Zealand Batting Scorecard
| BATTING | Run | Ball | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Seifert | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 120.00 |
| Tim Robinson | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Dean Foxcroft | 13 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 92.85 |
| Mark Chapman | 19 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 118.75 |
| James Neesham | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16.66 |
| Cole McConchie | 15 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 83.33 |
| Michael Bracewell (c) | 4 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 36.36 |
| Ish Sodhi | 8 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 61.53 |
| Jacob Duffy | 8 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 80.00 |
| Ben Sears | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 60.00 |
| Ben Lister | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
Pakistan Bowling Scorecard
| BOWLING | O | M | R | W | ECON |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | 3.1 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 4.10 |
| Naseem Shah | 4 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 6.75 |
| Mohammad Amir | 3 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 4.33 |
| Abrar Ahmed | 4 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 3.75 |
| Iftikhar Ahmed | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7.00 |
| Shadab Khan | 3 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 5.00 |
Pakistan Batting Scorecard
| BATTING | Run | Ball | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saim Ayub | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 200.00 |
| Babar Azam (c) | 14 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 107.69 |
| Mohammad Rizwan | 45 | 34 | 4 | 1 | 132.35 |
| Usman Khan | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 116.66 |
| Irfan Khan | 18 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 100.00 |
New Zealand Bowling Scorecard
| BOWLING | O | M | R | W | ECON |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Lister | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 5.00 |
| Jacob Duffy | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3.50 |
| Ben Sears | 3 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 10.00 |
| Michael Bracewell | 2 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 9.50 |
| Ish Sodhi | 3 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 6.00 |
| Cole McConchie | 0.1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 24.00 |
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