Pakistan VS New Zealand Played at Sharjah On 26 October 2021
Pakistan 135/5 in 18.4 Overs (Mohammad Rizwan 33, Asif Ali 27*, Shoaib Malik 26* , Ish Sodhi 2/28, Trent boult 1/29, Tim Southee 1/25 ,Mitchell Santner 1/35)
New Zealand 134/8 (Daryl Mitchell 27, Devon Conway 27, Kane Williams 25, Hariss Rauf 4/23,Mohammad Hafiz 1/16, Shaheen Shah Afridi 1/21, Imad Wasim 1/24)
Pakistan Won by 5 Wickets
Player Of The Match: Haris Rauf
Winning back-to-back matches against India and New Zealand Pakistan all but secured its berth for the semi final of T20 World Cup 2021. Yesterday at Sharjah they beat New Zealand by 5 wickets in a match that witnessed top quality bowling and excellent aggressive fielding from both sides. Finally, the depth and diversity of Pakistan batting saw them home. New Zealand batting first labored to produce 134/8. Pakistan cantered past that target scoring 135/5 in 18.4 overs with little bit bumpy ride.
It would not be unjustified if we term this win a “Poetic Justice” as New Zealand Cricket board withdrew its team an hour before the start of a T20 series against Pakistan receiving a ghost message of bomb threat. Yesterday at Sarjah they failed containing “Pace Bowling Bombs of Haris Rauf and Co".
Black Caps produced a less than competitive score of 134/8. Pakistan had to labor a bit in response against quality bowling and excellent fielding of the black caps. But a late surge of Asif Ali and Shoaib Malik plundering unbeaten 48 for the 6th wicket partnership in 23 balls saw them home in 18.4 overs.
Cannot help quoting Cricinfo as they eloquently pen pictured the two wins of Pakistan in UAE deserts:
"Sunday night's demolition in Dubai was set up by the three golden boys of Pakistan cricket: Shaheen Shah Afridi, the smiling assassin, and the elegant, diminutive partnership of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. Perfectly fittingly given the shift 40 miles up the main road to Sharjah's rickety old ground with its peeling paintwork and low stands, this was the turn of two players who have split opinion more than most: Haris Rauf,,the late blooming tearaway and Asif Ali ,the six hitting supremo."
New Zealand did its best pushing Daryl Mitchell up in the order for absorbing the swing of Shaheen Afridi, shearing pace of Haris Rauf and hustling of Hasan Ali. Rauf bowling at 149 KMH on the average. But 3 of his 4 wickets came from slower deliveries. His first ball was a toe crushing Yorker which almost took Martin Guptil out of the game. Shaheen, Imad, Hafiz all controlled the New Zealand innings giving no respite. Two quality youngsters Mitchell (27) and Conway (27) contributed for New Zealand below par score of 134/8. Kane Williams also contributed 25. Haris Rauf taking 4/23 did most of the damage. Shaheen Afridi (1/21), Hafiz (1/16) and Imad (1/24) were also very difficult to score off.
Pakistan in response also found it difficult against quality bowling and excellent fielding of the black caps. Rizwan (33) kept it going after Babar Azam (9) and Fakhar Zaman (11) fell early. Hafiz also fell ton an excellent full stretch diving catch by Conway in the deep off Santner. That catch may even go down as the catch of the tournament. It looked a bit tight at the later stage of Pakistan Innings till Asif Ali joining Shoiab Malik the only international Cricketer playing over four decades. The 6th wicket pair produced match winning unbeaten 48 in only 23 deliveries. Asif scored 27 in only 12 deliveries striking three sixes and a four. Malik remained unbeaten on 26. Pakistan won by 5 wickets with 8 balls to spare. Ish Sodhi (2/25), Tim Southee (1/25) Trent Boult (1/25) and Mitchell Santner (1/33) produced everything out of their hats.
Pakistan leaking the wounds from what they called answering the insult of calling its team home at the very last minute from the start of a scheduled bilateral series hunted the kiwis. The win took Pakistan one step closer to the semifinals. They have to play Afghanistan, Scotland and Mamibia in the group. New Zealand India match would become a virtual knock out. Not also ruling out Afghanistan causing a major upset as well.
This Pakistan team appears playing for a purpose. They have all ends covered. Haris Rauf is fast and furious, Shaheen swings prodigiously at pace. Hasan Ali hassles with his busy bustling pace off the wicket. Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan are tight and accurate spinners. In Babar Aazm and Rizwan they have two of the top five T20 batsmen at the moment. Fakhar Zaman is an unordox boundary hitter. Asif Ali is known for his 6 hitting. The team has two of the most experienced batsmen in Hafiz and Shoaib. What else a team needs to earn glories?
BDST: 1202 HRS, OCT 27, 2021
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