Pakistan stumbled at the start of their white-ball tour of New Zealand, copping a nine-wicket defeat in the opening game of the five-match T20I series at Hagley Oval, Christchurch.
Inserted, Pakistan were jackhammered for 91, their fifth-lowest T20I total and their third-worst while batting first. Kyle Jamieson (3-8) and Jacob Duffy (4-14) were the wreckers in chief. The target was then overhauled in only 10.1 overs by the Black Caps with nine wickets in hand as they went 1-0 up in the series.
Jamieson set the tone, bowling a wicket-maiden in the first over of the match to peg Pakistan back. Wickets fell at the rate of knots after the shoddy start as Pakistan ended the PowerPlay at 14/4.
Although newly-appointed skipper Salman Ali Agha (18 off 20) and Khushdil Shah (32 off 30) mitigated, the scramble against pace meant that the batters tried to go after spin, eventually bringing the end of the partnership as Ish Sodhi got rid of Agha.
Only three Pakistan batters fetched double-digit scores and it summed up their horror show with the bat. The result was a foregone conclusion at the halfway mark itself and Pakistan needed a bucket load of early wickets to make a game out of it. However, Tim Seifert (44 off 29) nipped any such aspirations in the bud in the PowerPlay. Pakistan’s attack was fighting a losing cause with an underwhelming total on the board and they were carted around as New Zealand romped home.
Brief scores: Pakistan 91 in 18.4 overs (Jacob Duffy 4-14, Kyle Jamieson 3-8) lost to New Zealand 92/1 in 10.1 overs (Tim Seifert 44, Finn Allen 29*) by nine wickets
