LAHORE: Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first against New Zealand in their second clash of the T20 International series on Sunday at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore, a day after it defeated the Black Caps with 88 runs in the first match.
Both teams have kept their squads unchanged; the star captain Babar Azam is leading Pakistan, while the Kiwis are led by the wicket-keeper batsman Tom Latham as the regular skipper Kane Williamson is suffering from a back injury.
In the first match on Friday, Haris Rauf’s sensational bowling and a 79-run partnership between Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman led Pakistan to a big 88-run win over New Zealand.
Pakistan opted to bat in first match
Deciding to bat first, Pakistan lost the opening pair of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam inside the batting powerplay with just 30 runs on the board.
Coming to bat at number 3, Fakhar was joined by emerging star Saim, and the duo scored 79 runs for the 3rd wicket and took the side to 109 in the 12th over, with Saim losing his wicket on 47 off 28 balls, smashing six boundaries and two sixes.
The Home side posted a formidable 182 runs with all-out due to late aggressive batting from Faheem Ashraf and Fakhar Zaman.
For New Zealand, Henry ended up with figures of 3 for 32 in 4 overs, while Adam Milne and Ben Lister bagged two wickets apiece.
NZ faces dangerous bowling attack
Chasing a difficult target, New Zealand went to a shaky start as the Pakistani pacers struck early. Fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Zaman Khan and Faheem Ashraf, and Haris Rauf bowled with pace, line, and length.
Pakistan Squad
Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Fakhar Zaman, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, S and Zaman Khan
New Zealand Squad
Tom Latham (captain, wk), Chad Bowes, Ben Lister, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Cole McConchie, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Dane Cleaver, Matt Henry, Blair Tickner, Will Young
