International cricket returned to Pakistan as New Zealand visited them for a white ball tour. The tour started with a 5-match T20 series and will be followed by a 5-match ODI series. Here is a review of the Pakistan vs New Zealand T20 series.
1st T20
The T20 series started in an anti-climatic way as it was a one-sided affair first up. After choosing to bat, Pakistan were dismissed for 182 runs in 19.5 overs. New Zealand in return were dismissed for just 94 runs. For Pakistan Haris Rauf showed his class as he took 4 wickets and went at an economy of just 4.9 runs per over in his 3.3 overs. Rauf was awarded the Man of the Match award for his performance with the ball.
2nd T20
The 2nd was very similar to the first one with Pakistan winning the toss and choosing to bat first. Pakistan scored 192 runs in their quota of 20 overs thanks to Babar Azam’s century. Azam scored 101 runs in 58 balls. In the second innings, New Zealand failed to make a mark with the bat for the second time in a row in the series. New Zealand scored 154 runs and lost the match by 38 runs.
3rd T20
New Zealand changed their fortunes in the third game as they finally won the toss. The Blackcaps opted to bat first and scored 163 runs in 20 overs, thanks to skipper, Tom Latham’s knock of 64 runs in 49 balls. In the second innings, Pakistan openers fell cheaply as Mohammed Rizwan and Azam scored a combined total of 7 runs in 16 balls. With the ball in hand, James Neesham took 3 wickets. In the end, New Zealand won the match by just 4 runs.
4th T20
The fourth T20 between the two sides was washed out and gave no result. This meant that New Zealand could only draw the series if they were to get a win in the final game.
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5th T20
In the 5th T20, we saw for the first time the team winning the toss to opt to bowl first. New Zealand’s decision to bowl first backfired as they conceded 193 runs from Pakistan. Mohammed Rizwan scored 98 runs as he missed out on his century by just two runs. In retrospect, his knock raised questions as he took 9 balls to go from 87 to 98. Chasing a huge total of 193, New Zealand were in trouble early in their innings as they lost three wickets for just 26 runs. Mark Chapman entered to bat at 5 and scored an unbeaten century to seal the victory for his team. Mark Chapman was awarded the Man of the Match and Man of the Series award for his performances in the series.
Also Read: How much impact does bowling economy have in T20s?
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