NZ beat Pakistan in T20I series opener; Mitchell, Southee shine
New Zealand have defeated Pakistan by 46 runs in the opener of the five-T20I series in Auckland. It was a high-scoring game with the likes of Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, and Babar Azam smoking fifties. While NZ posted a mammoth 226/8 while batting first, the Men in Green could only manage 180/10 in reply. Tim Southee claimed four wickets. Here are the key stats.
A look at the match summary
Finn Allen's 35 off 15 balls gave NZ a flying start. Williamson and Mitchell smoked fifties thereafter as NZ went past the 200-run mark. Shaheen Afridi and Abbas Afridi claimed three-fers. Pakistan started their chase well thanks to Saim Ayub (27 off 8 balls). However, the visitors could not keep up to the required rate thereafter as they fell short despite Babar's half-century.
An authoritative knock from Williamson
Williamson, who returned to the T20I setup after 14 months, hammered a 42-ball 57. Williamson became the second New Zealand batter after Martin Guptill (3,531) to accomplish 2,500 T20I runs. The tally includes 18 fifties. Courtesy of his knock, he has raced to 2,521 runs at 33.61. Williamson has amassed 641 runs against Pakistan at 37.70 (50s: 6).
A fiery hand from Mitchell
Mitchell attacked bowlers from the outset and scored 61 off 27 balls, a knock laced with four boundaries and as many maximums. He has now raced to 1,163 runs at an average and strike rate of 25.28 and 136.82, respectively. The tally includes six fifties. He has raced to 212 runs against Pakistan at 30.28. This was his second fifty against them.
Shaheen claims three-fer on captaincy debut
Shaheen Afridi was a bit expensive on his T20I captaincy debut as he finished with 3/46. He has now raced to 67 wickets in 53 T20Is at an economy of 7.71. 19 of his wickets have come against NZ with his economy being 8.26. He has not claimed even 15 wickets against any other team.
50 T20 wickets for Abbas Afridi
Debutant Abbas Afridi, who was playing his maiden T20I match, was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers as he finished with 4/34. With this three-fer on international debut, the right-arm pacer has raced to 50 scalps in 33 T20 matches with his economy being over 8.6. The tally also includes a five-wicket haul.
Highest total against Pakistan
As mentioned, the Kiwis finish at 226/8. This is now the highest-ever total against Pakistan in T20I history. NZ went past England's total of 221/3 in the Karachi T20I in 2022. Meanwhile, this is the first time NZ have crossed the 200-run mark against Pakistan. Overall, the Black Caps posted their fifth-highest T20I total.
150 scalps for Southee
Southee was sensational across all phases as he finished with 4/25. With his third wicket, he became the first bowler to complete 150 T20I scalps. He has now raced to 151 wickets at 22.96 (4W: 2, 5W: 2). 32 of his wickets have come against Pakistan at 16.65. The tally includes two four-wicket hauls and a solitary fifer.
3,500 T20I runs for Babar
Babar slammed a 35-ball 57 against NZ in a losing cause. With his 15th run, he became the fourth batter to accomplish 3,500 T20I runs (now 3,542). Babar has smashed three centuries and 31 fifties in this format. He has also maintained an average of 41.67. Against NZ, he has raced to 599 runs at 46.07 (50s: 5, 100: 1).
Babar completes 9,500 T20 runs
With his 38th run, Babar completed 9,500 (now 9,519) runs in T20 cricket. He became the second Pakistan batter after Shoaib Malik to achieve this feat. He has hammered 78 fifties and 10 centuries in the format. Babar's average of 43.66 is only second to his teammate Mohammad Rizwan (43.83) among batters with at least 1,000 T20 runs.
