Pakistan's poor dismal performance from the Champions Trophy continued as they suffered an embarrassing nine-run defeat in the first T20I at Christchurch, getting dismissed for 91 runs in their first outing in the post-Babar-Rizwan era.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made wholesale changes in the squad, dropping most of the players from the Champions Trophy squad. But the move backfired spectacularly as the squad led by Salman Ali Agha came up with a poor batting performance.
Electing to bowl first, New Zealand rode on superb bowling by pacers Jacob Duffy, who claimed four wickets for 14 runs, and Kyle Jamieson, who bagged three wickets for eight runs, to bundle out Pakistan for 91 runs. Ish Sodhi claimed 2/27 for New Zealand in a dominant bowling display. Khushdil Shah top scored for Pakistan with 32 as only two other batters -- Salman Agha (17) and Jahandad Khan (18) -- reached doubles figures.
In reply, New Zealand reached 92/1 in 10.1 overs with Tim Seifert scoring 44 off 29-balls and Finn Allen contributing 29 not out. Pakistan skipper Salman Agha said his batters weren't up to the mark and could not cope with the New Zealand bowling. They will have to learn quickly and will need time to settle down.
It was obviously difficult, we weren't up to the mark. They bowled really well, bowled in the right areas, and got the ball to seam and swing. Debutants will learn as they play and they have to learn quickly as well. We'll look to bounce back.
Pakistan and New Zealand have played a Tri-nation Series and the Champions Trophy in quick succession and both teams finished with contrasting results. New Zealand won the Tri-Nation Series and reached the final of the Champions Trophy while Pakistan failed in both, getting knocked out in the league stage of the Champions Trophy.
Michael Bracewell, leading the New Zealand team in the absence of top stars including Mitchell Santner who was captain in the Champions Trophy, said it was a great day for his team.
Was a great day in front of a great crowd. We have played against them domestically and to have them in the same team was super difficult for them (Pakistan). Had to hold Kyle (Jamieson) back for the 4th over. It was difficult to keep them off the attack...maybe we could have restricted them to a lesser score but it is always a challenge to rotate bowlers around in shorter formats.
New Zealand and Pakistan will meet in the second match of the five-match T20I series on Match 18 at Dunedin. The remaining three T20I matches will be played at Auckland (March 21), Mount Maunganui (March 23) and Wellington (March 26). They will also play three One-day Internationals at Napier (March 29), Hamilton (April 2) and Mount Maunganui (April 5).
