Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson made brisk half-centuries to propel New Zealand to a 46-run win in the series opener over Pakistan, as Shaheen Shah Afridi’s debut as T20I captain ahead of the World Cup ended in defeat at Eden Park on Friday.
Man of the Match Mitchell blasted 61 off 27 balls, following skipper Williamson’s 57 as New Zealand made 226/8 after being sent in, the highest-ever T20I total against Pakistan.
Afridi (3/46) dismissed Devon Conway with the second ball of the match but bled 24 runs in his second over when Finn Allen (34) smacked him for three fours and two sixes. Debutant Abbas Afridi with 3/34 was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers.
Pakistan had a chance at victory as long as Babar Azam was at the crease. But, when he was out in the 16th over, the run chase became insurmountable. The tourists finally were all out for 180 in 18 overs.
Tim Southee took 4/25 to become the first bowler from any nation to claim 150 wickets in T20Is.
New Zealand piled on runs through the middle of their innings — 80 between the eighth and 14th overs — but didn’t finish quite as strongly as they would have hoped. They may have been a batter short, as Mitch Santner was ruled out at the last moment after testing positive for Covid.
Saim Ayub gave Pakistan an explosive start to the innings when he hit 27 from eight balls, including three sixes and two fours. But, he was unlucky to be run out backing up too far. New Zealand would have been concerned when Pakistan was 62/1 after five overs with Mohammad Rizwan and Babar (57) at the crease but disciplined bowling, aided by their sharp catching, took the hosts to victory.
Written with inputs from AP/PTI & Reuters
Pacers have a field day in Kanpur
Calcutta: Bengal pacers put up a scintillating performance on the opening day of their second Elite Group B Ranji Trophy match against Uttar Pradesh at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur on Friday.
Mohammad Kaif (4/14), debutant Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal (3/20) and Ishan Porel (2/24) helped Bengal bundle out UP for just 60 in 20.5 overs. The hosts, however, struck back in the final session, reducing Bengal to 95/5 with Bhuvneshwar Kumar grabbing all the five wickets.
Opting to bowl on a green-top after a delayed start, the pace trio made the best use of the conditions to stun the home side. Despite missing in-form Rinku Singh and Dhruv Jurel, UP’s strong batting unit found the going tough against a young Bengal attack.
Only 48.5 overs were possible on the day.
Brief scores: UP 60 (Mohammad Kaif 4/14, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal 3/20, Ishan Porel 2/24). Bengal 95/5 (Shreyansh Ghosh 37 batting, Karan Lal 8 batting).
