1st T20I: Shaheen Afridi, Abbas Afridi shine against New Zealand
Pakistan pacers Shaheen Afridi and Abbas Afridi returned with three-wicket hauls in the opening T20I against New Zealand in Auckland. While debutant Abbas was brilliant up front and claimed three of NZ's first four wickets, Shaheen made an early strike before taking two wickets toward the end. Notably, the left-arm pacer is standing in his maiden international assignment as captain. Here are further details.
Remarkable spells from Afridis
Shaheen dismissed the dangerous Devon Conway for a duck in the second ball of the innings. Though he went for runs thereafter, he dismissed Daryl Mitchell (61) and Adam Milne (10) in the slog overs to restrict the damage. Meanwhile, Abbas dismissed the dangerous-looking Finn Allen (35) to open his account. Kane Williamson (57) and Glenn Phillips (19) were his other victims.
Shaheen claims three-fer on captaincy debut
Shaheen 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
The 22-year-old Abbas was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers as he finished with 4/34. Despite his brilliance, NZ finish at 226/8 in their allotted 20 overs. 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.
