In the first match of the three-match T20 series, New Zealand defeated Pakistan by 5 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Guptill and Conway start the innings for New Zealand in pursuit of a 154-run target in Eden Park, Auckland. Pakistan’s first victory came when Shadab Khan took the best catch of dangerous opening batsman Martin Guptill off Shaheen Shah Afridi’s ball.
In the next over, Haris Rauf gave Pakistan its second victory by catching Devon Conway on his own ball. After losing 2 wickets for 21 runs, Tim Seifert and Glenn Phillips batted responsibly to complete the team’s half-century. With a total score of 65, Haris Rauf sent Glenn Phillips back to the pavilion to give Pakistan another victory.
Tim Seifert completed his half-century and formed a 45-run partnership with Mark Chapman. Shaheen Shah Afridi ended the batsman’s innings with 57 runs. Chapman also scored 34 runs and got LBW on the full toss ball of Harris Rauf. Earlier, when Pakistan started the innings, young batsman Abdullah Shafiq returned to the pavilion without scoring a run in the second over. Captain Mohammad Rizwan was caught out for 17 runs while Mohammad Hafeez scored no run and Haider Ali scored 3 runs and returned to the pavilion, Khushdal Shah scored 16 runs and fell victim to Ash Sodhi. And the two players together raised the score to 79, but at this stage, Kiglijan gave his team a sixth victory and ended Imad’s 19-run innings, Shadab Khan was dismissed for 42, Wahab Riaz scored 9 runs. In the final overs, Faheem Ashraf batted aggressively and scored 31 runs off just 18 balls, thanks to which the national team crossed the 150-run mark.
Pakistan scored 153 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in the allotted overs, Duffy took 4 wickets and Kaglijan took 3 wickets for New Zealand. Earlier, in the first T20 match of the series being played in Auckland, national team captain Shadab Khan had decided to test the batsmen by winning the toss. Shadab Khan said “It looks like a good pitch and we want to put a good combination on the scoreboard,”
He described the leadership of the national team as a source of pride for him and his family and said that he would definitely miss Babar but it was a great opportunity for other players to come forward. It should be noted that due to a fracture in the thumb, the national team has lost the services of Babar Azam in the T20 series. Former captain Sarfraz Ahmed is not part of the team and has been replaced by Mohammad Rizwan.
The Pakistan team for the match includes Shadab Khan (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Abdullah Shafiq, Haider Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Khushdal Shah, Emad Wasim, Fahim Ashraf, Wahab Riaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Haris Rauf, while the New Zealand team include Mitchell Sentner (captain), Martin Guptill, Tim Seifert, Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, James Nisha, Mark Chapman, Scott Kleiglin, Ash Sodhi, Jacob Duffy, and Blair Tucker.
