Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell steadied the innings and built a solid partnership.
New Zealand Defeats Pakistan by 78 Runs in Tri-Nation Series Opener. New Zealand defeated host Pakistan by 78 runs in the opening match of the Tri-Nation Series at Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and chose to bat first. Will Young and Rachin Ravindra opened the innings for New Zealand, but Shaheen Shah Afridi struck early, dismissing Young on the very first delivery of the match with a catch behind the wickets. At 39 runs, Abrar Ahmed removed Rachin Ravindra, leaving New Zealand at 39/2.
After the early setbacks, Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell steadied the innings and built a solid partnership. However, at a total of 134 runs, Shaheen Shah Afridi struck again, removing Williamson for 58 runs. Soon after, Tom Latham was dismissed for a duck.
A responsible partnership between Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips allowed New Zealand to reach 330/6 in their allotted 50 overs. Phillips played an aggressive knock, scoring an unbeaten 106 runs off 72 balls, while Mitchell contributed 81 runs.
Shaheen Shah Afridi was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan, claiming three wickets, while Abrar Ahmed took two and Haris Rauf picked up one wicket. However, Haris Rauf had to leave the field during his seventh over due to injury.
In reply, Pakistan’s chase got off to a brisk start with Fakhar Zaman playing an aggressive innings. However, Pakistan’s top order collapsed quickly, with Babar Azam scoring just 10, Kamran Ghulam 18, and Mohammad Rizwan only three runs. Fakhar Zaman held his ground, scoring 84 runs off 69 balls, but after his dismissal, the remaining batters could not keep up with the required run rate.
Salmān Agha (40) and Tayyab Tahir (30) were the other notable contributors, but Pakistan was bowled out for 252 runs, falling short by 78 runs. Haris Rauf was unable to bat due to injury.
For New Zealand, Mitchell Santner took three wickets, while Bracewell and Matt Henry claimed two wickets each.
The second match of the Tri-Nation Series will be played between New Zealand and South Africa on Monday in Lahore.
