Twitter reacts as Pakistan beat New Zealand by 2 runs in a thrilling contest
New Zealand returned to international cricket after a gap of 211 days but they ran into a mighty Pakistan side which is ruling the shortest format. After whitewashing Australia, Pakistan recently registered their 7th consecutive T20I win.
In the series against Australia, they have successfully defended a score in the range of 145-155 thrice and they did it again against the Kiwis. Pakistan chose to bat first after winning the toss but it was the Kiwis that got off to a good start by picking up two wickets for just 10 runs.
A good third-wicket partnership of 67 runs between Asif Ali and Mohammad Hafeez brought some stability to the Pakistan innings. After these two batsmen got out, the onus was on the captain to take Pakistan to a decent total.
Sarfraz Ahmed did a decent job on a pitch which was not in favour of the batsmen. While the skipper's 26-ball 34 provided the stability to Pakistan's innings, lower order contributions from Faheem Ashraf (six off the last ball of the penultimate over) and Imad Wasim (a six and a four off the last two balls) took Pakistan to 143 at the end of 20 overs.
During the chase, New Zealand got off to a good start, thanks to Colin Munro. Even when his opening partner, Glenn Phillips struggled to score runs freely Munro ensured that New Zealand had 50 runs on board before the end of the powerplay.
After Munro's wicket, the match titled in favour of Pakistan as most Kiwi batsmen struggled to score. Ross Taylor was the only other batsmen to score runs at a fast pace.
With 37 runs needed off the last three overs, Taylor took the matter into his own hands as he hit a boundary off every over. In the last over, New Zealand needed 17 runs to win but Shaheen Afridi ensured that their side emerged victorious at the end of 20 overs.
The black caps needed a six off the last ball to tie the match but Ross Taylor could only manage a four and handed over a two-run victory to Pakistan.
Here's how Twitter reacted to Pakistan's win in a thrilling encounter: