New Zealand cricket team continued their winning run against Pakistan in 2nd T20I match. The Black Caps won the match by 5 wickets by chasing 136 runs in a rain-curtailed match with 15 overs per side. Tim Seifert took Pakistan’s bowlers to cleaners, it looked as if he made the bowlers bowl into his hitting arc. New Zealand now has taken 2-0 lead in 5 T20I match series as making a comeback for the visitors seems quite next to impossible.
Salman Agha rescues batting collapse
The match was being played at Dunedin, which had a first batting average score of 194 runs. Due to overcast conditions, Michael Bracewell opted to bowl first and that did wonders for the hosts. Pakistan’s top order again collapsed just like the opening T20I match. In the shortened powerplay of 5 overs, the Men in Green were in a spot of bother at 36-3.
Salman Agha was the lone striker who initially took time before unleashing attack on opposition. The introduction of Ish Sodhi in 7th over wrecked Pakistan’s middle order. Sodhi sent back Irfan Khan & Khushdil Shah in the same over & Pakistan were reduced to 52-4 in 7 overs. The surface wasn’t a rank turner but the batters’ lacked hand & eye co-ordination as they weren’t picking the variations.
Salman Ali Agha & Shadab Khan were seen targeting the square boundaries. At the end of 9 overs, the visitors’ were 76-4, Ben Sears foxed Salman Ali Agha by bowling a wide bumper delivery on the second ball of over where he wanted to play a pull shot but got a leading edge to deep square leg. The Black Caps got the massive wicket of Salman who scored 46 runs in 28 balls and was in sublime touch.
Shadab Khan & Shaheen Afridi played short cameos of 20 odd runs and set a challenging total of 136 runs in 15 overs. In the absence of Kyle Jamieson (*rested), Jacob Duffy took 2 wickets in his 3 overs spell and conceded 20 runs.
Tim Seifert & Finn Allen bash Pakistani bowlers
Tim Seifert played a maiden over bowled by Shaheen Afridi as his wicket to wicket line & length proved to be annoying for the batter. Finn Allen though in the very next over muscled 3 sixes to Mohammad Ali as the short ball ploy didn’t work nor did off-stump channel.
Tim Seifert looked rejuvenated in the 3rd over against Shaheen Afridi; he smashed monster 4 sixes. The spectators at Dunedin were in awe; Seifert gave a glimpse of Brendon McCullum’s power hitting who used to clobber the ball. It looked as if book cricket was going on or we can say sixes hitting competition from both batters.
In the mandatory powerplay of 5 overs, Kiwis pummeled Pakistani bowlers and scored 66 runs for the loss of 1 over. Finn Allen in the 7th over, continued hitting gigantic sixes this time to Jahandad Khan who was crestfallen. There was a conference between Haris Rauf, Salman Ali Agha & Jahandad Khan as the game was slipping away from the hands of Men in Green. Jahandad went around the wicket on the 5th delivery and trapped Finn Allen and the plan worked.
Finn Allen & Tim Seifert smash 10 sixes amongst themselves as in the target of 136, when 60 runs come from maximums; then any team would have the upper hand. The visitors took wickets in the middle overs but the required run rate was a concern for them. New Zealand sealed the game in the 14th over and took 2-0 lead.
Pakistan skipper Salman made a mistake by not introducing Haris Rauf in the powerplay overs. Pakistan badly needed wickets in the first 5 overs as the decision to give the ball to Khushdil Shah & Mohammad Ali backfired very badly.
What lies ahead
New Zealand fans would be overjoyed given yet another dominating performance. New Zealand’s preparation for ICC T20 WC 2026 seems to be going in a smooth direction. The bowling attack was thrashed and it was expected as Pakistani batters especially Salman Ali Agha was better equipped. The 3rd T20I match is scheduled for 21st March at Auckland, a win would seal the series.
Pakistan need the top order to fire because every time the captain Salman won’t take the team out of trouble. It won’t be a bad option if Shadab Khan gets a promotion up the batting order given he plays for Islamabad United (ISU) at No.3 position. It’s a do-or-die 3rd T20I match for Pakistan who already are in shambles given their selection and so called player-rotation policy is not showing results which is a mystery even for their native former cricketers.
Also Read:Â NZ vs PAK : Kyle Jamieson & Jacob Duffy Dismantle Pakistan Batters & Register Colossal Victory