New Zealand National Cricket Team vs. Pakistan National Cricket Team Match Scorecard

Cricket lovers watched an entertaining T20 match between New Zealand and Pakistan teams. In which they played at Seddon Park, Hamilton, on 14th January, 2024. The match was the second T20I of the Pakistan tour of New Zealand. Where the team of the later came out triumphant with a 21-run win. In this guide, we will know about  the New Zealand national cricket team vs. Pakistan national cricket team match scorecard.

New Zealand national cricket team vs. Pakistan national cricket team match scorecard: Toss Ans Team Decision

Pakistan joined the field for the first time and decided it to bowl first. In order to capitalize on whatever help there might be for the seam bowlers in the first two and a half hours. Both teams lined up their best players for the match. In which made the match more exciting from the start to the end. 

New Zealand’s Innings: New Zealand Opener, Finn Allen Innings

New Zealand’s innings, as we saw, began on a high note because of the stunning batting display by Finn Allen. The young man, the opener in particular, was dazzling, striking 74 of only 41 balls. His innings were decorated by 7 fours and 5 sixes. He making it quite entertaining for the crowd with T20 style of play. 

Devon Conway had a splendid knock of 20 runs, and we also benefited from a good score of 26 runs by Kane Williamson. That Kiwi’s captain Williamson was forced off the field injured, but before he left, he ensured that his side was well placed. 

Pakistan’s Bowling Efforts 

The Pakistan bowlers really had their day of test as they came to face against the aggressive Kiwi batmen. Amongst the bowlers, Haris Rauf was quite impressive, taking 3 wickets in 38 runs of 4 overs. Among bowlers, Abbas Afridi contributed 2 wickets, and Aamer Jamal as well as Usama Mir got 1 wicket each. 

However, young Shaheen Shah Afridi proved his class, though he remained wicketless, but he gave only 30 runs in his 4 powerplay overs. 

Pakistan’s Chase: Babar and Fakhar Show Their Class

In an attempt to achieve 195, Pakistan began on a rough note as both the openers, Saim Ayub and Mohammad Rizwan, were dismissed without scoring much, 1 and 7, respectively, in the first two overs. But there came a gem of a partnership between Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman that put Pakistan on a challenging course. 

Babar proved why he is ranked as one of the best of the world when he played a finesse knock of 66 off 43 balls. Fakhar Zaman was equally aggressive and played at the same pace and got to his 50 in just 25 balls, four fours, and five sixes. 

New Zealand’s Bowling: Group Endeavour 

In response, New Zealand’s bowling unit came to the party to stand up and defend the total they had set. However, the best bowler of the side was Adam Milne, who bowled 4 overs and got 4 wickets while conceding 33 runs. Southee and Sodhi did a remarkable job for their team and got 2 wickets each, Sears bowled economically and got 2 important wickets. 

New Zealand national cricket team vs. Pakistan national cricket team match scorecard:

New Zealand (20 ovs maximum) – Batting

New Zealand (20 ovs maximum) – Bowling

Pakistan (Target: 195 runs from 20 ovs) – Batting

Pakistan – Bowling

Turning Points That Defined The Match 

Finn Allen’s Blitzkrieg: Allen played with passion in the first innings, which New Zealand could build up their innings on. 

Kane Williamson’s Retirement: There was an incident in the Kiwi captain’s injury that forced him to retire and might have greatly influenced the game, but his team proved stronger, thereby overcoming this adversity. 

Babar-Fakhar Partnership: This pair of brilliant stands kept Pakistan in contention and had New Zealand under pressure for some time. 

Adam Milne’s Crucial Wickets: New Zealand player of the match Scott Milne further made match-turning innings of Mohammad Rizwan early in the match and Shaheen Shah Afridi in the later period. 

Player of the Match: Finn Allen is the golden boy of New Zealand cricket that fans love to watch with their eyes on him all the time. 

What This Means for the Series

That victory has given New Zealand a 2-nil lead in the five-match T20I series. The win will be a big morale boost to the Kiwis, but Pakistan will have to bear the heat if they are to equalize or even come close to the Kiwis in the series. 

Looking Ahead of the Series

The teams will now gear up to go to the next ground for the third T20I. Pakistan will be looking to answer their bowling problems and would be praying for better batting. New Zealand, on the other hand, would try and aim to continue with the winning streak and probably clinch the series. 

For cricket lovers, such a cricket game was an ideal promotion of T20 cricket with powerful shots, excellent bowling, and the swing of the game that did not allow the audience to relax until the final over. 

Major Data Analysis of the Match 

Highest Score: Double centuries: Finn Allen (NZ) – 74 runs 

Best Bowling Figures: bowling: NZ – Adam Milne 4/33 

Fastest Fifty: Fakhar Zaman of Pakistan is the player who scored two twenty-first century and took within 23 balls. 

Most Sixes: There is no one doubting the abilities of Fakhar Zaman of Pakistan, as he set a record of 5 goals. 

Conclusion 

New Zealand National Cricket Team vs. Pakistan National Cricket Team Match Scorecard really Interesting. The second T20I game between New Zealand and Pakistan was another exciting game, which is the epitome of T20 format. All-blazing batsman Finn Allen with an excellent all-round effort put in by the New Zealand team was more than what Pakistan could handle on the day. Moving on the series, cricket lovers have much to participate in the upcoming episodes of the two wonderful teams. 

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