2 things that stood out in Pakistan's victory over New Zealand in the 2nd T20 international
Pakistan beat New Zealand by 38 runs in the second T20 international at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Saturday to go 2-0 up in the five-match series. Batting first, the hosts scored 192/4, with skipper Babar Azam hitting an unbeaten century and Mohammad Rizwan scoring 50. In reply, New Zealand could only manage 154/7, thereby handing the hosts a comfortable win. Mark Chapman scored an unbeaten 65 for the visitors.
Star of the show 🌟
@babarazam258 is the player of the match for his epic ton 💯🏆
#PAKvNZ | #CricketMubarak https://t.co/cR8lEg9Asa
On that note, here's a look at two things that stood out in the match:
#1 Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan made merry for Pakistan on a slightly slower track
The pitch at the Gaddafi Stadium was slightly slower than it was the previous day. Still, there was enough bounce for the bowlers. The Pakistani openers used the pace of the Kiwi bowlers to score quite a few runs behind the wicket early on. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan also moved laterally at times before playing their shots to disrupt the line of the bowlers.
The opening partnership yielded 99 runs, but Rizwan’s dismissal triggered a mini-collapse, as Pakistan lost four wickets for six runs. Matt Henry once again got wickets off successive deliveries. However, Babar and Iftikhar Ahmed then added an unbeaten 87-run stand for the fifth wicket to help their team post a formidable total.
Babar and Iftikhar hit three sixes each; with the skipper often staying on the backfoot to punish shorter deliveries. He reached his third T20 international century by hitting a boundary in the final over of the innings. Henry and Rachin Ravindra were quite economical for New Zealand, but the other bowlers went for a lot of runs.
#2 Mark Chapman played a lone hand once again as Haris Rauf dismantled the Kiwis
The New Zealand openers gave their team a decent start by putting on 44 and playing some quality strokes off the Pakistani pacers. However, once the spinners were introduced, New Zealand lost both their openers quickly and never recovered after that.
Most of the Kiwi middle-order batters faltered as Mark Chapman was left to play a lone hand for the second consecutive match. The southpaw played shots all around the park to take the visitors to a somewhat respectable total.
Haris Rauf got a four-wicket haul once again to blunt New Zealand’s chase. The Pakistani pacer varied his speed intelligently by bowling cutters often, as the Kiwi batters holed out in the deep repeatedly while trying to go for big shots. In the end, New Zealand fell well short of the target. The performance of the Kiwi middle order remains a worry for the team management.
Always special in front of the home crowd. 🙌
And another solid performance by the boys!
Focus already on Monday now. https://t.co/EsUQ4ayYjA