Babar Azam registered another milestone in the Pakistan VS New Zealand 2nd T20I. The Pakistani maestro, while taking his team to victory in the 2nd T20I, scored a scintillating 100. This is his 3rd T20I hundred. Pakistan beat New Zealand by 38 runs in the 2nd Pakistan VS New Zealand T20I. A formidable batting performance by Babar Azam coupled with some great bowling by Haris Rauf sealed the game for the men in green. They outplayed New Zealand in all three departments. Here is an in-depth look:
Pakistan Playing XI for Pakistan VS New Zealand 2nd T20I:
Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan
New Zealand Playing XI for Pakistan VS New Zealand 2nd T20I:
Tom Latham (c & wk), Chad Bowes, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Cole McConchie, Henry Shipley, Matt Henry, Ben Lister
1st Innings:
The toss was won by Pakistan, and they opted to bat first on the “patta” wicket of the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore. The pitch was a belter. Any batter could have got runs and at a point, it looked like 192 scored by Pakistan would be a little less. But then the pitch started playing its games and batting was looking a bit difficult initially.
Babar and Rizwan started to score from the word go. They scored 59 runs in the powerplay itself. Rizwan was looking in sound touch. Babar was looking a bit edgy but found himself just in some time. Babar unleashed a couple of cover drives as well. But till Rizwan was playing Babar chose to play the second fiddle.
Matt Henry and Rachin Ravindra had a decent day with the ball. Henry picked two wickets while Ravindra managed to stay economical and picked 1 wicket. Rizwan was dismissed after a glorious 50. He scored 50 runs in 34 balls. Post that it was the Babar Azam show. He managed to score a delightful, memorable 100. This was his third T20I hundred, and the first one coming on home soil. A few lusty hits from Iftikhar Ahmed, in the end, took Pakistan’s score to 192/4 in 20 overs.
2nd Innings of Pakistan VS New Zealand 2nd T20I:
New Zealand never really looked solid while chasing. The wickets kept tumbling. Tom Latham and Chad Bowes were looking to give a solid start. But they looked a little edgy. Chad Bowes especially was finding it difficult to middle the ball. Eventually, the first breakthrough came in with New Zealand being 44. Both the spinners, Imad and Shadab got rid of the openers.
Further, the magic of Haris Rauf took over in the middle overs. Mark Chapman was holding one end of the New Zealand innings. But the wickets kept falling from the other end. Haris Rauf got 4 crucial wickets in the form of Mitchell, Ravindra, Neesham, and Young. HE rattled the NZ middle-order.
Eventually with the help of Mark Chapman’s 65 runs of 40 balls NZ managed to give a decent fight but it was not enough. They scored 154 runs in 20 overs and fell short by 38 runs.
Brief Scores:
1st Innings (Pakistan Batting):
- Total: 192/4
- Babar Azam: 101 runs of 58 balls.
- Mohammad Rizwan: 50 runs of 34 balls.
- Matt Henry: 2/29 runs.
2nd Innings (New Zealand Batting):
- Total: 154/7
- Mark Chapman: 65 runs of 40 balls.
- Haris Rauf: 4/27.
To know more go to Pak VS NZ 1st T20I: Preview, Dream 11 Predictions, Playing XIs, Venue, Timings.
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To know more go to the official website of NZ Cricket.