Kyle Jamieson played a pivotal role in New Zealand’s nine-wicket triumph in the first match of the T20I series against Pakistan at Hagley Oval, Christchurch. The fast bowler Kyle Jamieson single-handedly crippled Pakistan’s batting lineup by taking three wickets in his first 11 balls. A brilliant bowling display, courtesy of Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy, and Ish Sodhi, dismantled Pakistan’s batting lineup, restricting them to a mere 91. In reply, the Kiwis chased down the target with ease, reaching 92/1 in just 10.1 overs.
Hosts New Zealand made an impressive start to their five-match T20I series against Pakistan, registering a comfortable nine-wicket victory in the first match at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, on Sunday. This performance shocked the Pakistani team, who were already reeling from their Champions Trophy campaign exit and missing key players Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : The surface at Hagley Oval in Christchurch generally offers good batting conditions. The average scoring rate in the last five T20Is at this venue reads 8.17, suggesting that the pitch has been decent for batting in recent times. So, expect a balanced wicket with an even pace and bounce for the first T20I. The top-order batters should neutralise the first few overs before shifting gears. Nevertheless, shot selection will be key at this venue, as poor shots could lead to underwhelming outings for the batters.
As it’s late summer in New Zealand, spinners might exploit the dryness of the pitch and get the ball to turn at times. Meanwhile, the seamers might focus on hitting the deck and varying their pace. Something around 175 could be the par score here. Unless the track is on the drier side, expect the toss-winning team to bowl first.
Toss : New Zealand skipper Michael Bracewell won the toss and chose to field with a blend of youth and experience in the Playing XI. Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha batting first had three debutants in the Playing XI Hasan Nawaz, Abdul Samad and Mohammad Ali.
Kiwi bowlers Kyle Jamieson and Jacob Duffy wreak havoc as Pakistan is bundled out for mere 91 runs
Put in to bat, Pakistan were shot out for 91, their fifth-lowest T20I total and their third-lowest while batting first. Kyle Jamieson (3-8) and Jacob Duffy (4-14) were the major stars with the ball for New Zealand. The Black Caps then hunted it down in only 10.1 overs with nine wickets in hand, to go 1-0 up in the series.
The tone was set by Kyle Jamieson, who bowled a wicket-maiden in the first over of the match to peg Pakistan back. The tall seamer had Mohammad Haris nicking to slip in the first over while debutant Hassan Nawaz also fell to a duck in the next over, enabling New Zealand to get off to the perfect start. Kyle Jamieson made it even better when he took out Irfan Khan in his second over, leaving Pakistan on the mat at 1/3. More damage was done with the new ball as Kyle Jamieson dislodged Shadab Khan, as Pakistan ended the PowerPlay at 14/4.
Kyle Jamieson, back in the T20I set up for the first time in nearly two years, set the tone for New Zealand with a wicket maiden, Mohammad Haris only able to help a short ball behind to wicketkeeper Mitch Hay. Debutant Hasan Nawaz then got a leading edge off Duffy to Kyle Jamieson at deep third as Pakistan lost both openers without a run on the board. This was only the second time both Pakistan openers were dismissed for ducks.
Kyle Jamieson then had Irfan Khan edging behind in the third over as Pakistan slumped to 1 for 3 – their lowest score at the fall of the third wicket. Tim Robinson then evoked rather fresh memories of Glenn Phillips from the Champions Trophy as he took a blinder at backward point to give Jamieson his third, with the scoreboard reading 11 for 4.
Pakistan were restricted to 14 for 4 in the powerplay, and it could have gotten worse immediately afterwards, but Tim Seifert dropped Khushdil Shah at point off the captain Michael Bracewell. Agha then looked to drive a full ball from Zakary Foulkes the next over, only to get an edge but Daryl Mitchell shelled the chance in the slip cordon.
Kyle Jamieson finished with career-best figures worth 3/8 across four overs. The pacer also delivered a maiden over. Notably, he delivered the most economical four-over spell in NZ-PAK T20Is. This was also the third-most economical four-over spell by an NZ bowler at home. As per ESPNCricinfo, the pacer has raced to 13 wickets across 14 T20Is at 32.30 (ER: 8.68). He has overall raced to 92 career T20 scalps at 23.78.
Agha and Khushdil used their second lives to arrest Pakistan’s free-fall. They finally looked to up the tempo in the tenth over, when Agha reverse-swept Ish Sodhi for four behind point and Khushdil smacked him over midwicket for Pakistan’s first six. In the next over, Khushdil took Bracewell on for back-to-back sixes to try and put some pressure back on the bowlers. But it was a very short-lived phase of ascendancy for Pakistan.
From such a start, there was no coming back although newly-appointed skipper Salman Ali Agha (18 off 20) and Khushdil Shah (32 off 30) tried to offer some resistance. The pair added 46 for the fifth wicket and this included a passage where Khushdil hit Michael Bracewell for successive sixes in an over.
Agha tried another reverse-sweep off Sodhi’s next ball, but he could only pick out deep backward point. Duffy was brought back into the attack for an over, and the move paid dividends as Khushdil slapped a short ball to backward point. Pakistan were 64 for 6 after 13.
The struggle against pace meant that the batters tried to over attack spin and it eventually ended the partnership. Ish Sodhi got rid of Agha and it opened the floodgates once again for the home side. Duffy ended Khushdil’s stay and the innings fell away after that.
Debutant Abdul Samad and Jahandad Khan then fell trying to play big shots before Duffy returned in the penultimate over to take the last two wickets, picking up from where he left off in the T20I series against Sri Lanka where he finished as the highest wicket-taker .Pakistan’s 91 is the fourth-lowest T20I score by any team in New Zealand.
Only three Pakistan batters got to double digits and it summed up their disappointing show with the bat. The result was a foregone conclusion at the halfway mark itself and the realistic question was how quickly New Zealand would wrap the game up.
Tim Seifert completes an easy NZ chase in just 10.1 overs
For Pakistan to script a miracle, they needed a bucket load of wickets with the new ball but that wasn’t to be. Tim Seifert (44 off 29) killed the game in the PowerPlay before perishing off the penultimate delivery of the sixth over. After playing out the first over, Seifert got New Zealand going with a pull through midwicket off debutant Mohammad Ali. He then picked up three boundaries off Shaheen Afridi’s next over, including another pull in front of square.
Seifert gave the charge to Ali to pick up another boundary, before getting two off Jahandad’s first over, and the fifth of the innings. Finn Allen, largely a spectator until then, also joined the party as he lofted Jahandad down the ground for the first six of the chase.
Pakistan switched to spin and Seifert welcomed Abrar Ahmed with a massive hit over long-off. Abrar got the better of him with a carrom ball that Haris did well to hold on to behind the stumps off the bottom edge, but New Zealand by then had effectively won the match in the two powerplays.
Allen hit another six and two fours, while Robinson also got a six to his name as New Zealand completed the chase just one ball after the halfway mark of the innings.
The opener took his time in the first couple of overs before tearing into Pakistan’s bowlers. Finn Allen (29* off 17) played second fiddle in the opening stand but once Seifert fell, he took on the mantle of attacking the bowlers. Pakistan’s attack didn’t have much scope with such a low total on the board and they were carted around.
Chasing Pakistan’s paltry total, Tim Seifert’s aggressive innings put his side in a commanding position. He scored 44 runs off just 29 balls, hitting seven fours and one six. Finn Allen and Tim Robinson also contributed significantly to New Zealand’s chase, remaining unbeaten with scores of 29 and 18 runs respectively. The Kiwis hence crossed the line in just 10.2 overs.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Michael Bracewell the winning NZ skipper said : Was a great day in front of a great crowd. We have played against them domestically (on the pacers), to have them in the same team, it was super difficult for them (Pakistan) and they couldn’t recover.
Had to hold Kyle back for the 4th over, he was ready and at the top of his mark, it was difficult to keep them off the attack, maybe we could have restricted them to a lesser score (had I bowled out them out earlier), but it’s always a challenge to rotate the bowlers around, especially in shorter formats like the T20s.
Salman Ali Agha the losing Pakistan skipper said : It was difficult, we weren’t up to the mark, but we need to regather (ahead of Dunedin). They bowled really well, in great areas, there was a bit of seam movement as well. We will sit down, have a chat and think about the next game. We had three debutants, the more games they play, they’ll learn more. The new ball does a bit in New Zealand, we’ve good bowlers and we’ll look to do well in the next match.
Kyle Jamieson Player of the Match for his 3 wickets for 8 runs in 4 overs said : It was nice to be back on home soil, favourable conditions, myself and Duff, we’ll take these conditions and it was nice to cash in. I guess we plan for some carnage (in T20Is), for some balls to go out of the ground, nice to get these conditions, needed to keep the seam upright, it made our job easy and was a clinical team performance.
We have got a good crop of players, great depth and players who can exploit the conditions, it was a nice team win. He did an outstanding job (on Jacob Duffy), at the top and the back-end as well, Zak (Foulkes) as well, was just a great all-around performance from the bowlers.
In the fifth T20I in Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand last year, the hosts had been dismissed for 92 chasing 135 in Christchurch. In the first T20I of this five-match series, that was a winning total for New Zealand after Kyle Jamieson and Jacob Duffy took apart a new-look Pakistan side.
The dropping of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan signalled that Pakistan were trying to step out of their comfort zone in T20 cricket, which is broadly very good. But on Sunday, they saw the risks that also come with it as they were bundled out for 91, their lowest total in New Zealand and their fifth-lowest in the format.
The Black Caps followed the White Ferns in bringing up comprehensive victories on a double-header day in Christchurch as Kyle Jamieson and Duffy shared seven wickets between them, the bounce they were able to generate too much for the Pakistan batters.
The victory was never in doubt after the start provided by the New Zealand bowlers. The only question was the margin and they’ve completed a facile win, with 9 wickets and 59 balls to spare. Pakistan would like to forget this match in a hurry, the batting floundered big time and the bowlers didn’t stand a chance of defending 91.
Tim Seifert started slowly, but he went with all guns blazing once settled, his 29-ball 44 being the highlight of the chase. Finn Allen helped himself to 29* and Tim Robinson remained unbeaten on 18 as the hosts cantered towards victory. A convincing performance from the hosts, a complete performance and they’ll be confident going ahead to the next game in Dunedin.
A short and sweet match for the hosts with the conditions ensuring that they were always ahead of the opponents. The two teams will now go down south to Dunedin for the 2nd T20I , which is also a day match