A four-field shot from rookie Jacob Duffy (4/33) and practical punches from Tim Seifert (57) and Mark Chapman (34) helped New Zealand take a 1-0 lead against Pakistan in the first game of the T20I series in Eden. Park in Auckland.
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A late blitz from Chapman and some big hits from Mitchell Santner and Jimmy Neesham helped the Kiwis steal 43 runs in the final 3.5 overs despite six runs, which included the Chapman wicket of Haris Rauf. Santner finished the game with a six, but the chase had become a formality by then, mainly due to excellent punches from Seifert and Chapman early in the innings.
New Zealand lost Martin Guptill early on with Shadab Khan taking a stunner, running from the middle of the field. Rauf added to the hosts’ troubles when he held on to a good catch of his earned bowling alley to send Devon Conway on his way. However, Glenn Phillips and Seifert boosted innings after Powerplay overs, leading spinners Shadab and birthday boy Imad Wasim by six apiece in their respective overs.
Rauf returned to the attack for Phillips to catch him in the middle of the field for his first ball of the new spell. But Seifert and the new Chapman stole 36 runs of the next four overs to get New Zealand back on track.
At 109/3 in 14 overs, the hosts looked well on their way to an easy victory, but Shaheen Shah Afridi returned to the mix to send Seifert back shortly after completing his half century. Chapman, who had progressed to just over one run per ball, hit Wahab Riaz for six and two fours in the next over and the required running speed dropped rapidly. Chapman’s wicket didn’t deter the low-middle order as Neesham and Santner sealed the game for the hosts.
Earlier, Pakistan opted to hit first after winning the toss and immediately found himself in trouble when Duffy, making his international debut, went through his first order. After a half-chance of his first pitch against Mohammad Rizwan, Duffy returned Abdullah Shafique with the fourth ball of his first over, in just the second over of the inning.
On his next over, Duffy knocked out Rizwan and then bounced off the Eden Park wicket to send veteran Mohammad Hafeez off the next ball. With three wickets in his first two overs, Duffy had already made his memorable debut.
New Zealand, however, continued to advance from the other end. After the first ball of the next over, Scott Kuggeleijn returned Haider Ali to leave Pakistan reeling at 4/20.
Khushdil Shah and substitute captain Shadab revived innings slightly before an effort from the former, off Ish Sodhi, gave New Zealand a fifth wicket in the ninth inning of innings. Duffy then almost got a yell in the depths to send Shadab back, but the replays showed that the pacemaker had grazed the sockets as he turned around after the one-handed grab.
Shadab played a few shots against Sodhi, but lost Imad on the other end when he pushed Kuggeleijn to a third man deep. However, the 40-race partnership had laid a decent foundation for the lower order to take over.
Shadab found a capable ally in Faheem Ashraf, who began his coup with a four-cover over his second installment. A couple of sixes from Sodhi then sent Shadab out at 30.
To set things back, skipper Santner produced a jaw-dropping envelope where only one run was conceded and an LBW decision was nearly earned. With Santner finished with his spell, Shadab and Ashraf released their arms more and a 14-hit run from Blair Tickner ensued.
Duffy returned Shadab in the next over to complete the best figures in history for a New Zealand bowler in the T20I debut, but his over ended with three sixes of the last four balls. 19 runs came out of the final two overs as Pakistan posted a competitive 153/9, a pretty good total considering they were only 51/5 of the previous 11 overs that day.
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