New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Kyle Jamieson and Jacob Duffy reduced Pakistan to 1 for 3 in 2.2 overs. Wicketkeeper Mohammad Haris and Hasan Nawaz opened the batting in the absence of the veterans Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam. Too much aggression cost Haris his wicket as he nicked the last ball of the first over to wicketkeeper Mitchell Hay with Jamieson, who started proceeding with a maiden wicket over.
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Next over, Jacob Duffy removed debutant Hasan Ali for a duck. Jamieson in his second over got the prized wicket of Irfan Khan, who perished on 1. Jamieson was not done yet. In his third over, Jamieson removed Shadab Kham with Tim Robinson taking an excellent catch at the gully.
Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha (18) and Khusdil Shah (32) tried to steady Pakistan’s ship. But leg-spinner Ish Sodhi dismissed Pakistan captain. Khusdil Shah showed some fight as he smashed three sixes but wickets continued to tumble and Pakistan were bundled out for a paltry 91 in their first innings. This was Pakistan’s fifth lowest total in the T20Is.
Pakistan’s Lowest T20I Scores
Chasing the modest total, New Zealand romped home in 10.1 overs with nine wickets to spare.
Tim Seifert (44) and Finn Allen (29 not out) gave New Zealand a rocking start as they put on 53 runs for the opening wicket. Seifert smashed seven boundaries and one six before getting out to Abrar Ahmed. Tim Robinson (18 not out) joined Allen in the middle and took their team home.
Kyle Jamieson was adjudged player of the match. He said: “It was pretty nice to be back on home soil. We had favourable conditions myself and Duffy. We would love to carry this surface to most places. It is nice when you are playing for a bit of carnage, but when you get conditions like that, you just have to hit the right lengths and let the ball do its magic.”
Pakistan skipper Agha Salman blamed the lack of match time for his team’s dismal loss. He said: “It was obviously difficult. We were not up to the mark. But we do not have much time. We need to bounce back. They bowled really well in the powerplay. We did not bat well. Now we have one day before the next game. We need to gather ourselves. There were three debutants today. It is a young side. In New Zealand, the new ball always does a bit. We will try to use it in the next game.”
The second T20I match will take place on Tuesday at Dunedin.
