Pakistan snatched victory from the jaws of defeat as they outclassed New Zealand & won the game by 5 wickets with 1.2 overs left in the tank. This match of Group 2 was played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on the 26th of October. Pakistan now have bagged 2 matches out of 2 & now they would be keen to inflict a lot of damage by winning the next 3 matches. New Zealand would hope that this is a passing shower & would reflect the performance as a one-off.
Pakistan had won the toss & elected to bowl first. New Zealand had set a a below par yet a challenging total of 135 runs. New Zealand’s bowlers were bang on target with impeccable line & lengths as Pakistan managed only 30 runs for the loss of a mammoth wicket of the skipper Babar Azam who was foxed by Tim Southee in the 6th over where he bowled an off-cutter to thrash his stumps. Mohammad Rizwan then took care of the run chase as he was making sure that he doesn’t consume the balls. Rizwan on one hand was holding the ship while at the other end Mohammad Hafeez & Fakhar Zaman were duped by the spin web of Mitchell Santner & Ish Sodhi; & all of a sudden the required run rate cropped to 8 runs per over as Pakistan were 63 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in 11 overs. Within a blink of eye Rizwan got departed too as he scored 33 runs in 34 balls & it looked like Pakistan won’t make a match out of it. New Zealand’s spinners bowled a lot of disciplined line & lengths as they forced the Pakistan batsmen to press the panic button.
In the last 8 overs Pakistan required 65 runs which was tricky considering the nature of the pitch which was two paced. On the crease was the only Cricketer who has participated in all the 7 ICC T20 World Cup Tournament Shoaib Malik & with him the left arm off spinner Imad Wasim was there. Malik & Imad were cautious as they were taking absolutely no risks & focusing on rotating the strike. Trent Boult was introduced in the 14th Over & he got rid of Imad Wasim & in the last 5 overs Pakistan required 44 runs to win with Malik & Asif Ali at the crease. In the 17th over there was carnage as Asif Ali hit 2 consecutive sixes to Tim Southee & all of a sudden Pakistan were bossing the game as Pakistan required 24 of 3 overs. Asif Ali & Shoaib Malik wasted no more time as they wrapped up the match as Pakistan won by 5 wickets. New Zealand need to quickly sort out their bowling combination as specific roles should be given promptly to the likes of Boult & Southee as their job is to take wickets.
New Zealand were asked to bat first. New Zealand got to a steady start but just at the brink of the power-play overs Martin Guptill was bowled out at 17 runs by Haris Rauf. Daryl Mitchell was promoted up the order as an opener & he somewhat made the most of the opportunity by scoring a quick fire cameo of 27 runs in 20 balls. Kane Williamson resurrected the innings along with Devon Conway. At 13 overs the score of New Zealand was 90 runs for the loss of 3 wickets & it looked like they can put a competitive total of more than 150 runs; but Hasan Ali the fast bowler got better of Williamson as he was run out by a turbulent piece of fielding. The dismissal of Williamson proved to be the turning point as in the next 7 overs New Zealand managed to score only 44 runs. Haris Rauf the speedster was the wrecker in chief as he took 4 wickets & gave away only 27 runs whereas the rest of the bowling line up supported each other throughout the match.
New Zealand may have made a mistake by not opening the batting with Tim Seifert who is a basher who can cut the opponent in half in the initial stages of the match; keeping him at no.7 was doing a bit injustice to his potential & talent.
Pakistan would hope that they avoid collapses as this nemesis is been there since ages. Asif Ali made a statement that he can be a finisher on the given day irrespective of his previous performances as he was initially not named in the squad & the same applied to Shoaib Malik.
New Zealand are slated to play next against the hosts India at 31st October at the Dubai International Stadium. That clash could be decisive as it is a virtual knock out match; whereas Pakistan are going to play Afghanistan on 29th October at Dubai International Stadium. Both India & Pakistan played their inaugural match at Dubai in which Pakistan bamboozled India.
New Zealand & India need to pull up their socks as one more match could weaken their chances of Semi Finals whereas Pakistan would hope that they don’t prolong their qualification.
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