Pakistan were back at their best after their innings and 80 run loss to New Zealand in the third test at Sharjah few days back as they defeated the Kiwis by 7 wickets in the first of the two match T20 International series against Pakistan at Dubai.
Chasing a modest 136 to win from 20 overs, it was all about wicket-keeper batsman Sarfraz Ahmed, who provided the hosts a good start and carried his team all the way till the end. Sarfraz put on a 51 run partnership for the first wicket with Awais Zia, who was found short of his crease and was dismissed for a well-made 20. In the very next over skipper Mohammad Hafeez was run-out courtesy a direct throw from wicket-keeper Luke Ronchi for just 2 runs before Haris Sohail was caught at mid-wicket by Nathan McCullum off Mitchell McClenaghan for 11 runs.
In the meantime, Sarfraz reached his half-century and carried his team home with a well-made 64 ball 76 which included 8 fours and 2 sixes. Sarfraz shared an unbroken partnership of 43 with Umar Akmal as the duo took their side home with 5 balls to spare. Inspite of going wicketless, Adam Milne was the pick of New Zealand bowlers with figures of 0-18 in 4 overs. McClenaghan finished with 1-21 in 4 overs.
Earlier put into bat, the Kiwis got off to a shocker after as they lost the wickets of skipper Kane Williamson, Anton Devcich and Ross Taylor at the end of third over of the innings with the score card reading only 15 runs. The Kiwi top three looked clueless against the Pakistani new ball bowlers Anwar Ali, Sohail Tanvir and Mohammad Irfan. It was when Corey Anderson joined Martin Guptill in the middle.
The duo batted sensibly and took their side to a safer position as they put on 46 in 6.5 overs before Shahid Afridi castled Guptill for 32. Luke Ronchi walked into the middle and the visitors started to accelerate towards a big total. Anderson, in the company of Ronchi smashed the balls all over the park and stitched together a partnership of 51 in 5.4 overs. When Anderson seemed to go for the kill, he was caught at deep mid-wicket by Saad Nasim off Raza Hasan for a well-made 37 ball 48.
Some good death bowling from Pakistan applied the brakes on New Zealand’s run-rate and restricted to a par score of 135-7 in 20 overs. Sohail Tanvir and Irfan were the pick of Pakistani bowlers as both of them scalped two wickets apiece giving away 24 runs and 27 runs off 4 overs respectively. Sarfraz Ahmed was declared the man of the match.
The second T20 between the two sides will be played at Dubai tomorrow.
Scorecard:
New Zealand Innings:
|
Batsmen |
Dismissal |
Runs |
Balls |
4’s |
6’s |
|
|
Martin Guptill |
b Afridi |
32 |
30 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
Kane Williamson |
lbw b Anwar Ali |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Anton Devcich |
lbw b Tanvir |
1 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Ross Taylor |
c Akmal b Irfan |
4 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
|
|
Corey Anderson |
c Nasim b Raza |
48 |
37 |
1 |
4 |
|
|
Luke Ronchi |
b Tanvir |
33 |
28 |
4 |
0 |
|
|
Jimmy Neesham |
c Akmal b Irfan |
6 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Nathan McCullum |
not out |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Adam Milne |
not out |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Extras: |
(b 2, lb 1, w 4, nb 1) |
8 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total: |
20 overs |
135-7 |
Pakistan Bowling:
|
Bowlers |
Overs |
Maidens |
Runs |
Wickets |
Economy |
|
Anwar Ali |
2 |
0 |
15 |
1 |
7.50 |
|
Sohail Tanvir |
4 |
0 |
24 |
2 |
6.00 |
|
Mohammad Irfan |
4 |
0 |
27 |
2 |
6.75 |
|
Raza Hasan |
4 |
0 |
24 |
1 |
6.00 |
|
Mohammad Hafeez |
2 |
0 |
15 |
0 |
7.50 |
|
Shahid Afridi |
4 |
0 |
27 |
1 |
6.75 |
Pakistan Innings:
|
Batsmen |
Dismissal |
Runs |
Balls |
4’s |
6’s |
|
|
Sarfraz Ahmed |
not out |
76 |
64 |
8 |
2 |
|
|
Awais Zia |
run out (Devcich/McCullum) |
20 |
21 |
2 |
0 |
|
|
Mohammad Hafeez |
run out (†Ronchi) |
2 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Haris Sohail |
c McCullum b McClenaghan |
11 |
12 |
1 |
0 |
|
|
Umar Akmal |
not out |
27 |
14 |
3 |
1 |
|
|
Extras: |
(b 1, lb 1, w 2) |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total: |
19.1 overs |
140-3 |
|
|||
New Zealand Bowling:
|
Bowlers |
Overs |
Maidens |
Runs |
Wickets |
Economy |
|
Matt Henry |
4 |
0 |
31 |
0 |
7.75 |
|
Mitchell McClenaghan |
4 |
0 |
21 |
1 |
6.00 |
|
AdamMilne |
4 |
0 |
18 |
0 |
4.50 |
|
Anton Devcich |
2 |
0 |
19 |
0 |
8.50 |
|
Nathan McCullum |
4 |
0 |
26 |
0 |
6.50 |
|
Corey Anderson |
1 |
0 |
17 |
0 |
17.00 |
|
Jimmy Neesham |
0.1 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
36.00 |
Result: Pakistan beat New Zealand by 7 wickets in the first T20I at Dubai.