Pakistan beats New Zealand in T20 World Cup

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - A reinvigorated Pakistan on Tuesday clinched a second consecutive win, beating New Zealand by 5 wickets in the ongoing T-20 World Cup 2021 at Sharja cricket stadium.

Riding a wave of confidence following a convincing victory against archrival India on Sunday, though the green shirts managed to chase the target of 135 runs, their top order fumbled, making an easy target unnecessarily difficult.

The black caps, who abruptly cancelled their Pakistan tour last month due to reported security concerns, appeared off-color as none of their players could cross the mark of 30 runs as right-arm pacer Haris Rauf destroyed the Kiwis' top order.

Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell were joint top-scorers with 27 each while captain Kane Williamson scored 25 of 26 balls to help the Kiwis finish at 134-8 in 20 overs.

Rauf took 4 wickets against 22 runs in the allotted four overs, while left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was man of the match against India, Mohammad Hafeez, and Imad Wasim clinched a wicket each.

Pakistan were expected to cruise through the easy total, keeping its thumping victory against a mighty Indian side, but their top order, except for wicketkeeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan, fell short of the expected results.

Skipper Babar Azam, Fakhr Zaman, and Mohammad Hafeez were sent to pavilion by the New Zealand Pacers one after another. Rizwan, however, managed to garner 33 runs off 34 balls.

At one point in the run chase, Pakistan were 87-5 in the 15th over and the game was slipping away from the clutches of the Men in Green.

There came Malik and Asif together to form an unbeaten 48-run partnership to chase the target with 8 balls to spare.

Ali, who scored unbeaten 27 off 12 balls, hit two back-to-back sixes in the 17th over, releasing a mounting pressure. Malik, playing his last World Cup, amassed 26 runs.

With this victory, Pakistan top Group B with 4 points, strengthening their chances to reach the semifinals.

The green shirts will play their third match against Afghanistan on Friday.