The Pakistan cricket team is on tour to New Zealand for a 5-match T20i series. As PCB had made Shaheen Afridi new captain for T20 format so It is his first series being captain of t20i side which did not start well for him as Pakistan lost the match in first encounter by 46 runs.
Pakistan, after winning the toss, chose to field first but fifties for Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell helped to set a high target for the visitors. Mitchell quick runs set the stage for black caps as he played brilliantly for 61 runs on just 27 balls including 4 fours and 4 sixes. Pakistan’s fielding effort was very ordinary as they dropped catches and not hit good lengths regularly.
Shaheen Afridi himself bowling first over is always a treat to watch and this time with added responsibility of captaining the side was a new challenge. Although he successively took a wicket in the 2nd ball of first over by getting Devon Convoy out but then it was a food partnership between Williamson and Finn Allen. And afterwards Daryl Mitchell did the real damage with quick runs. New Zealand managed to score 226/8 in 20 overs which is a good score.
Although Pakistan started chasing positively as Saim Ayub played some great shots but could not convert it into big innings. From Pakistan side only Babar Azam scored more than 50 runs as his score was 57 on 35 balls including 6 fours and 2 sixes. Pakistan were all out at 180 runs in 18 overs and therefore lost the match by 46 runs.
Man of the Match:
Daryl Mitchell for his electric performance with the bat 61 (27) was given Man of the Match award in the post match ceremony.
The Pakistan Cricket Team needs one game to win to get their confidence back and it would be great for them if they could win the 2nd t20i game against black caps. Their fans back home and all around the world have been waiting long for a moment of joy by winning a game of cricket so lets hope it would happen soon.
Schedule of 2nd T20i match between New Zealand vs Pakistan 2024:
2nd T20i – New Zealand vs Pakistan – January 14th, 2024