AUCKLAND: Shaheen Afridi’s crown as T20I captain was thrown to the winds as New Zealand defeated Pakistan by 46 runs in an exciting and entertaining match played in front of a boisterous weekend crowd at Eden Park in Auckland. After choosing to field first, Pakistani players showed a lackluster attitude with the ball, which was exploited by New Zealand, who saw half-centuries from Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson to complement Finn Allen’s explosive attack. Due to a late cameo from Mark Chapman, Pakistan attempted to rally with rookie Abbas Afridi’s 3 for 34, an impressive effort in difficult bowling circumstances, but it was not enough to prevent the home team from amassing 226.
Pakistan countered by launching a side out in an attempt to make a point, but they were unable to pace and maintain control over what New Zealand had. Despite a blistering start, the visitors were never able to contain the asking rate as the host team kept chipping away at Pakistan’s wicket number, denting them in chase of the massive target.
With four more wickets, Tim Southee, who became the first player to reach 150 T20I wickets, helped Pakistan be brought back into control. The tone was set by a remarkable second over in which Mohammad Rizwan was trapped and subsequently removed with a slower ball. He would later be responsible for Iftikhar Ahmed during a crucial phase of the chase.
Despite numerous cameos from the top six, only Babar Azam managed to continue and score an impressive half-century in 33 balls. But once the asking rate had risen above 14, Babar was never the man totally prepared to power through, and as he fell, Pakistan’s challenge ended with something of a whimper. Pakistan collapsed for 180 after losing the final four wickets in 11 balls for seven runs, handing the home team the early advantage in the series.A first over from Shaheen Afridi is always special, and that was made even more so now that he had on the captain’s armband. The man ensured he would deliver, taking a wicket off Devon Conway’s second ball.
If New Zealand was tardy off the start, Allen would make up for it with a brutal attack that would commence with Shaheen’s second over. With its short straight boundaries at Eden Park, Shaheen had mentioned how tough it was to bowl full, and in that over, Allen provided a live demonstration. Shaheen had dismissed Allen in his opening over of the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final, and New Zealand never quite bounced back. Here, Allen would atone for his earlier actions by hitting Shaheen’s opening five deliveries for boundaries, including two sixes and three fours, to amass 24 in the over and send New Zealand sailing.
Over the following twelve balls, New Zealand scored 42 runs off them in a blaze of boundaries. Mitchell ignited the touchpaper, but Williamson fell after a half-century that more than made up for its lack of explosiveness. As New Zealand prepared for the death overs, he would attack Aamer Jamal with an equal amount of zeal. In the 16th over, he would take one final swing at Mir, hitting him for three boundaries before eventually holing out off Shaheen in the following over.Pandemonium at the top for Pakistan
Although this was by no means an elite match due to the abundance of lost catches, bad bowling lengths, mix-ups, and miscues, it was an incredibly entertaining one. The early parts of the chase were a perfect example of the game’s frantic character. The first ball was blasted through the covers by Saim Ayub, who was the spark. He then produced a magnificent no-look bunt over deep backward square leg for six runs. Ayub was relieved after scooping one up to mid-off when the very uncommon event of a Williamson drop occurred with the final ball of the over.
After Matt Henry missed a clear opportunity to put Rizwan off the opening ball of the second over, Ayub exploded for two sixes and a four. However, Pakistan’s tendency to injure themselves would strike again when Ayub stumbled while trying an unwarranted run and was caught off guard by Adam Milne’s hard punch. As the match gradually drifted back down to earth, Rizwan attempted to keep the tempo up with a six off the very next ball, but the 20,055 spectators at Eden Park received excellent value for their money.
