Pakistan level T20I series with 9-run victory against New Zealand

Staff Report

 LAHORE: Pakistan defeated New Zealand on Saturday to level the five-match Twenty20 International series in a display of terrific performance by the home side bowlers at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore here.  The five-match series drew 2-2 with Pakistan winning the second and fifth T20I while New Zealand got the better of home side in third and fourth match. Meanwhile, the first encounter in Pindi was called off due to rain. Shaheen Afridi was once again Pakistan’s MVP with the ball as the left-armer took the game away from the visitors with his heroics in the 15th over as he sent James Neesham and Zakary Foulkes back to the pavilion on back-to-back deliveries. He ended his spell with 4/30 figures. Chasing the 179-run target, the Kiwis were troubled by Afridi’s first-over heroics as the 24-year-old removed Tom Blundell with an in-swinging beauty.

With his wicket in the first over, Shaheen became the first bowler to take 50 wickets in T20 cricket. Behind him is India’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has 43 wickets. However, the Black Caps recovered quickly as Tim Seifert took charge of the innings and blasted Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir for boundaries all over the ground in his over. The right-hander scored a quick 52 off 33 but was removed by Usama Mir in the ninth over. The leg-spinner was Pakistan’s second-best performer with the ball as he ended his spell with impressive figures of 2/21. Despite losing wickets, the Black Caps didn’t lose focus and continued to play attacking cricket with Josh Clarkson doing the job down the order.

However, Clarkson couldn’t take his side over the line as all the remaining batters were out and as a result, the visitors suffered a nine-run defeat. Batting first, Pakistan posted 178/5 with Babar Azam top-scoring for the side with 69 off 44 balls. The hosts had a disappointing start with Saim Ayub only making 1 run. He was dismissed by William O’Rourke in the second over. Usman Khan joined captain Babar Azam and the pair recovered well by scoring quickly. Usman, playing his fourth T20, made 31 off 24 balls with the help of four boundaries. Meanwhile, Babar looked solid tonight with his strokes. The 29-year-old registered his 34th fifty in T20Is and also claimed the record for most fours in the history of the format. On the other hand, Fakhar Zaman took charge in the second half of the innings and continued his form from the last game. He finished on 43 off 33 balls which included five boundaries. Shadab Khan played a 15-run cameo off just five balls which pushed Pakistan’s total to 170+.

SCOREBOARD

PAKISTAN INNINGS

Saim Ayub c Bracewell b O’Rourke   1

Babar Azam b Sears       69

Usman Khan c Bracewell b Sodhi      31

Fakhar Zaman c Chapman b Foulkes  43

Iftikhar Ahmed c Bracewell b Neesham       6

Shadab Khan not out      15

Imad Wasim not out       4

Did not bat: Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usama Mir, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi

EXTRAS (LB 1, NB 1, W 7)    9

TOTAL (20 overs)         178-5

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-8 (Saim Ayub, 1.3 ov), 2-81 (Usman Khan, 8.5 ov), 3-123 (Babar Azam, 14.6 ov), 4-159 (Iftikhar Ahmed, 18.3 ov), 5-171 (Fakhar Zaman, 19.1 ov)

BOWLING

Zakary Foulkes     4-0-35-1

William O’Rourke 4-0-25-1

Ben Sears    4-0-46-1

Michael Bracewell 3-0-28-0

Ish Sodhi     4-0-30-1

James Neesham    1-0-13-1

NEW ZEALAND INNINGS

Tim Seifert b Usama       52

Tom Blundell b Shaheen 4

Michael Bracewell c Babar b Shadab 23

Mark Chapman b Usama          12

Cole McConchie lbw b Imad     1

James Neesham c Shadab b Shaheen   16

Josh Clarkson not out     38

Zakary Foulkes b Shaheen        0

Ish Sodhi lbw b Shaheen 3

Ben Sears run out  7

William O’Rourke run out        0

EXTRAS (LB 2, NB 1, W 10)  13

TOTAL (19.2 overs)      169

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-5 (Tom Blundell, 0.5 ov), 2-81 (Tim Seifert, 8.1 ov), 3-97 (Mark Chapman, 10.6 ov), 4-97 (Michael Bracewell, 11.3 ov), 5-103 (Cole McConchie, 12.1 ov), 6-125 (James Neesham, 14.2 ov), 7-125 (Zakary Foulkes, 14.3 ov), 8-137 (Ish Sodhi, 16.1 ov), 9-168 (Ben Sears, 19 ov), 10-169 (William O’Rourke, 19.2 ov)

BOWLING

Shaheen Shah Afridi       4-0-30-4

Saim Ayub  2-0-20-0

Mohammad Amir 3.2-0-41-0

Abbas Afridi         2-0-24-0

Usama Mir  4-1-21-2

Iftikhar Ahmed     1-0-11-0

Shadab Khan        2-0-15-1

Imad Wasim          1-0-5-1

Umpires: Faisal Afridi, Rashid Riaz

TV umpire: Aleem Dar

Match referee: Andy Pycroft