'Confident' Pakistan take on New Zealand in second T20I today
Cricket
Haris Rauf, Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub helped Pakistan bag 88-run win over Kiwis in first match
LAHORE (Web Desk) – Pakistan will take on New Zealand in second game of the T201 series today (Saturday) at Gaddafi Stadium a day after it blew away the Black caps with thumping win of 88 runs in the first match.
The match will start at 9:00pm PST while there would be no change in the playing XI of the both sides.
On Friday, Haris Rauf’s four-fer and a 79-run partnership between Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub led Pakistan to a comprehensive 88-run win over New Zealand.
Opting to bat first, Pakistan lost opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan inside the batting powerplay (4.2 overs) with 30 runs on the board.
Coming to bat at number three Fakhar was joined by young Saim and the duo added 79 runs for the third wicket and took Pakistan to 109 in the 12th over with Saim getting out for 47 off 28 balls, smashing six fours and two sixes.
That the home side was managed to post a formidable 182 all out was due to late onslaught from Faheem Ashraf and 34-ball 47 from Fakhar.
For New Zealand, Henry ended up with figures of three for 32 in four overs, while Adam Milne and Ben Lister bagged two wickets apiece.
Chasing a challenging target, New Zealand got off to a shaky start as the Pakistani bowlers struck early. Fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan and Faheem Ashraf bowled with pace and accuracy, picking up crucial wickets. Mark Chapman tried to counter-attack with aggressive strokeplay, but he lacked support from the other end.
Wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals, with New Zealand struggling to keep up with the required run rate and the tourists were eventually bowled out for 94 in the 16th over with left-arm spinner Imad Wasim chipping in with two wickets in an over and was at one time on a hat-trick in the 15th over.
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood and Zaman Khan
New Zealand squad: Tom Latham (captain, wk), Chad Bowes, Mark Chapman, Dane Cleaver, Matt Henry, Ben Lister, Adam Milne, Cole McConchie, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, Will Young
