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Seamer Jacob Duffy made an unforgettable debut when the Black Caps defeated Pakistan in their first game of the Twenty20 series on Friday night, winning 4-33 to help set up a five-wicket victory.
Tim Seifert (57 of 43) and Mark Chapman (34 of 20) were the key men at the bat as the hosts chased after 154 to win and take a 1-0 lead in the three-game series.
Pakistan was immediately on the defensive after winning the toss and choosing to hit, with Duffy eliminating Abdullah Shafique for a second ball when he caught Chapman in the middle.
Two more wickets followed in his second round: Mohammad Rizwan, caught in coverage for 17-of-17, and Muhammad Hafeez, who skipped a Chapman catch and headed for a golden duck.
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While Duffy waited for his hat-trick, Scott Kuggeleijn had Haider Ali catch and shoot for three of five, and although the hat-trick could not be, Pakistan had a meager 29-4 late in the power play.
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Black Caps rookie Jacob Duffy celebrates Pakistan hitter Muhammad Hafeez’s wicket.
The rookie had been acrobatic in the bowling area, twice trying to run great catch-and-throw opportunities, and nearly yelled with one hand at the third man in front of Blair Tickner, only for replays to show he had hit the ball. boundary rope when he completed the catch.
Pakistan captain Shadab Khan remained the dangerous man and hit a pair of sixes off Ish Sodhi at 15 to move his side to 99-6, but was caught by the leg clamp to become the fourth victim of Duffy, heading for a 42 of 32 balls.
Wahab Riaz and Faheem Ashraf hit Duffy for three sixes of the last five balls he threw, and Ashraf went on to make a useful 31 of 18 before juggling Martin Guptill caught him on Tickner’s pins.
Kuggeleijn finished 3-27 of his four overs, claiming Imad Wasim for 19 of 14 and Riaz for nine of five, but Pakistan would have been content to make 153-9 of his 20 overs after his horror start, with Shaheen Shah. Afridi was not 10 out of five.
Guptill and Seifert cautiously began the chase and the older man didn’t last long as he was caught by a six-out-of-10 dive Shadab as he drove across the ground in front of Afridi in the third, and Devon Conway followed shortly after. five out of three, caught and released by Haris Rauf.
By the end of the power play, Seifert and Glenn Phillips had moved the Black Caps to 40-2, taking 11 from Wahab’s first over, but their partnership came to an end at 44 of 34 balls when Phillips was caught long for 23 of 18.
The equation stood at 82 required 60-ball runs in the middle of the stage, with Seifert as the point man, at 36 of 27 after guiding a Rauf ball to the third-man limit, and the Black Caps 72-3.
Seifert went up to fifty in the twelfth, moving Wahab to square deep for a pair to reach the milestone with 35 balls, and by the end the Black Caps were 91-3, needing 63 more than 48 balls.
The 100 came in the next over, thrown by Shadab, with Chapman sweeping to mark his first limit, then leading a fine for another from Rauf in the over that followed.
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Black Caps hitter Glenn Phillips was 23 of 18.
Seifert was unable to lead the chase home as he was caught on the side of Shaheen’s bowling leg at 15 and was replaced by Jimmy Neesham.
Only two runs were scored in Shaheen’s over, which left the Black Caps needing 43 of the final five overs and construction nerves calmed down a bit when Chapman took a slower ball from Wahab and threw it for six.
He had a bit of luck on the next ball when he should have been caught by Ashraf on the thin leg, but instead picked up four runs when the regulation catch was spilled, and finished the other by adding another limit to make the math 27 of 24 .
His luck ran out the following, when Rauf caught him LBW, and after a failed review, he was on his way, replaced by backup captain Mitchell Santner, who came close to catching the first ball.
Shaheen came back for his last over with a required 21 of 18 and was hit directly to the ground by Neesham for six first balls and after he hit another on long shot, the writing was on the wall.
The all-rounder was not eliminated at 15-on-10 as Santner hit a six off Wahab to finish 12-on-eight and seal the win with seven balls to spare.
The series continues Sunday at Seddon Park in Hamilton, then concludes Tuesday at McLean Park in Napier.
Pakistan 153-4 of 20 overs (Shadab42 of 32, Ashraf 31 of 18; Duff 4-33; Kuggeleijn 3-27) lost to Black Caps 156-5 in 18.5 overs (Seifert 57 of 43, Chapman 34 of 20; Rauf 3-29) through five windows.
