Shaheen Shah Afridi made his T20I captaincy debut on Friday at Eden Park, Auckland, where New Zealand beat Pakistan by 46 runs. The match concluded with a loss. Notwithstanding an impressive commencement facilitated by Saim Ayub’s exceptional innings in which the left-handed batsman scored 27 off a mere eight deliveries, the Green Shirts capitulated in their pursuit and were unable to convert that into a victory.
The Green Shirts were in contention to pursue the target at 130-4 after 12.4 overs, but Azam Khan’s lacklustre performance with the bat exacerbated the visitors’ difficulties. Men in Green batsmen Fakhar Zaman (15 off 10 balls), Iftikhar Ahmed (24 off 17 balls), and Azam Khan (10 off 9 balls) all performed poorly. In contrast, former captain Babar Azam led the losing side in scoring with 57 runs off 35 deliveries, but his efforts fell short of the Black Caps’ mammoth target.
New Zealand beat Pakistan 46 runs to lead 1-0
Tim Southee, who amassed 150 wickets in Twenty20 Internationals, took three, with Adam Milne and Ben Sears each claiming two. During the initial innings, Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson emerged as the most effective batsmen for New Zealand, amassing 57 and 61 runs, respectively. After Babar Azam dismissed Williamson at eleven, the New Zealand captain was awarded a life at that point; he utilised the opportunity to his fullest by mashing fifty. Despite not achieving an exceptional strike rate of 135.71, the 33-year-old did create space for other players, such as Finn Allen (35 off 15) and Mitchell (61 off 27), who scored runs at strike rates of 233 and 255, respectively, and breathed fire with their bats.
Mark Chapman performed admirably in the lower order, scoring another fast 26 off 11 deliveries that contained two fours and an equal number of sixes. The entire Pakistani bowling staff was sent to the cleaners, leaving only Abbas Afridi and Haris Rauf to bowl at a respectable economy rate of 8.50 each. Despite getting off to a strong start with a wicket in the first over, Afridi was unable to build on that momentum and ultimately surrendered 46 runs on three wickets.
Aamer Jamal surrendered 56 runs in four overs, whereas Usama Mir was dismissed for 51. Engaging XI Iftikhar Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi (c), Abbas Afridi (Debut), Azam Khan (week), Aamir Jamal, Usama Mir (Debut), and Aamir Jamal are all Pakistani players. Finn Allen, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Adam Milne, Matthew Henry, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, and Ben Sears represented New Zealand.
Playing XI
Pakistan:Â Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan (wk), Aamir Jamal, Usama Mir (Debut), Shaheen Afridi (c), Abbas Afridi (Debut), Haris Rauf
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Adam Milne, Matthew Henry, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears
