T20 World Cup 2021: 5 factors that helped Pakistan win against New Zealand
Pakistan and New Zealand competed in one of the biggest nail biters of the T20 World Cup 2021 to date. The two teams looked to settle matters on the pitch after the Kiwis pulled out of their tour of Pakistan right before their first match in September.
Pakistan won the toss and put New Zealand in to bat first in their second match of this year's T20 World Cup. Shaheen Afridi bowled a beautiful first over that turned out to be a maiden. Pakistan kept the pressure on and restricted the Kiwis to 134 for eight wickets. Shaheen and Haris Rauf starred with the ball before the Pakistani openers took guard.
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan started slow and picked up before the wickets started to tumble. At one point it looked like the Green Shirts would lose the match. However, a late onslaught by Shoaib Malik and Asif Ali secured the victory for Pakistan in the 19th over.
Take a look at the five factors that helped Pakistan defeat the Black Caps in their second group match of the T20 World Cup 2021.
#5. Intelligent bowling changes from Pakistan against New Zealand at the T20 World Cup 2021
Babar Azam’s captaincy for Pakistan has been under the radar for some time. While Babar, the batsman, has been great on the pitch, Babar the captain made some questionable decisions during key moments.
The T20 World Cup 2021 is going to be the biggest test of Azam’s captaincy. He made some decent decisions during the match against India before leading his side to victory with the bat.
During the match against New Zealand, Babar Azam made some smart decisions after opting to field first. The T20 World Cup match saw Pakistan’s captain put the right bowlers upfront to keep things tight.
He introduced Mohammad Hafeez at the right time when a left-hander came in to bat. It took him just two deliveries to undo James Neesham in the middle overs.
WICKET! 💥
#NewZealand are looking in trouble here as Mohammad Hafeez picks up the wicket of Jimmy Neesham for 1 in his very first ball.
🇳🇿 56/3 (9.1)
#T20WorldCup #PAKvNZ #Pakistan https://t.co/wG8FIMmDiF
Azam juggled his bowlers’ overs well and saved Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf’s overs for the death. That proved to be vital for the Men in Green as the final three overs leaked just eighteen runs as Haris and Shaheen picked up four wickets.