137/5 (13.1)
CR : 10.41
135/9 (15.0)
CR : 9.00
New Zealand won by 5 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Tim Seifert
45(22)
Over 14
New Zealand 137/5
Michael Bracewell5(2)
Mitchell Hay21(16)
Jahandad Khan1-23(1.1)
NZ won by 5 wickets
10:53 AM IST, 6:23 PM local time | New Zealand win by 5 wickets and take a 2-0 lead in the 5-match series.
It has been another dominating performance from New Zealand. Pakistan's "new era" hasn't quite begun on the right note. Perhaps, their fans will find a bit of solace in the fact that unlike the first match, this was not quite a mauling.
Agha Salman's robust knock of 46 (28) — which happens to be his highest T20I score, Khushdil Shah's tight spell, Haris Rauf's vigorous bowling and Shadab Khan's cameo of 26 (13) are the few positives they can take from this game.
Once again, their batters came out with intent to try and bludgeon every ball in their sight, without actually gauging the conditions. The faults in their execution manifest in the fact that out of the 19 wickets they have lost in the series, 18 have been catch outs. Today, despite the rain before the match and some wind out there, we did not see much lateral movement. However, Pakistan still lost wickets at regular intervals and failed to sustain momentum throughout the 15 overs. Jacob Duffy, Jimmy Neesham, Ben Sears and Ish Sodhi picked up two wickets each.
New Zealand's run chase had an intriguing start. Shaheen Afridi bowled a maiden up front — an over in which he even hit the batter twice — but was taken to the cleaners in his next over. Seven sixes were hit in the next 12 balls and by the time Pakistan managed to dismiss Tim Seifert (45 off 22 balls) and Finn Allen (38 off 16 balls), the back of the run chase had been broken. The visitors did manage to dismiss the middle order rather cheaply, but with the required rate well under control, Blackcaps were barely put under any sort of pressure. Mitchell Hay played a steadfast knock of 21* (16) and ensured that they crossed the finish line with some time to spare.
It has been another dominating performance from New Zealand. Pakistan's "new era" hasn't quite begun on the right note. Perhaps, their fans will find a bit of solace in the fact that unlike the first match, this was not quite a mauling.
Agha Salman's robust knock of 46 (28) — which happens to be his highest T20I score, Khushdil Shah's tight spell, Haris Rauf's vigorous bowling and Shadab Khan's cameo of 26 (13) are the few positives they can take from this game.
Once again, their batters came out with intent to try and bludgeon every ball in their sight, without actually gauging the conditions. The faults in their execution manifest in the fact that out of the 19 wickets they have lost in the series, 18 have been catch outs. Today, despite the rain before the match and some wind out there, we did not see much lateral movement. However, Pakistan still lost wickets at regular intervals and failed to sustain momentum throughout the 15 overs. Jacob Duffy, Jimmy Neesham, Ben Sears and Ish Sodhi picked up two wickets each.
New Zealand's run chase had an intriguing start. Shaheen Afridi bowled a maiden up front — an over in which he even hit the batter twice — but was taken to the cleaners in his next over. Seven sixes were hit in the next 12 balls and by the time Pakistan managed to dismiss Tim Seifert (45 off 22 balls) and Finn Allen (38 off 16 balls), the back of the run chase had been broken. The visitors did manage to dismiss the middle order rather cheaply, but with the required rate well under control, Blackcaps were barely put under any sort of pressure. Mitchell Hay played a steadfast knock of 21* (16) and ensured that they crossed the finish line with some time to spare.
Player of the Match: Tim Seifert
Tim Seifert (Player of the Match): "Yeah, it was great fun. After that first over, thought it could be a tricky wicket. But batting with Finn was great fun.
To be honest, there isn’t much conversation. We have played a lot of cricket. Just back yourself and your skills.
It’s a dream to be playing for your country. It’s great fun to be back with the boys. You are playing with the best players in the world. At the same time, you have to back yourselves and put pressure on the bowlers and just relax. As a player, you definitely learn as you get better.
I dropped two catches in the first game. I was nervous. You have to try to work on different things because you don’t want to be playing just as a batter."
To be honest, there isn’t much conversation. We have played a lot of cricket. Just back yourself and your skills.
It’s a dream to be playing for your country. It’s great fun to be back with the boys. You are playing with the best players in the world. At the same time, you have to back yourselves and put pressure on the bowlers and just relax. As a player, you definitely learn as you get better.
I dropped two catches in the first game. I was nervous. You have to try to work on different things because you don’t want to be playing just as a batter."
Agha Salman (Pakistan Captain): "It was freezing. But it was a nice game than the last game. We batted good in this game but we have to finish it well. Bowling was good in patches but need to be consistent.
I think the bounce. As soon as we arrived, we need to understand that we have to adjust to the bounce. There is extra bounce.
(Positives from this game) After powerplay, we bowled really well. Spinners bowled well. Haris also bowled well. We need to pick batters in the powerplay and be consistent.
(On improvements before the next game) I think as a batting unit, we need to have a better powerplay. We need to improve our batting in the powerplay."
I think the bounce. As soon as we arrived, we need to understand that we have to adjust to the bounce. There is extra bounce.
(Positives from this game) After powerplay, we bowled really well. Spinners bowled well. Haris also bowled well. We need to pick batters in the powerplay and be consistent.
(On improvements before the next game) I think as a batting unit, we need to have a better powerplay. We need to improve our batting in the powerplay."
Michael Bracewell (New Zealand captain): "I think it was a very good bowling performance. The guys bowling into the wind bowled really well. It was good to keep them down to a decent score. When the wicket has been under covers for a day or so, it offers a bit of extra bounce and we used it well.
We were happy with that score at the halfway stage. We discussed about trying to target the down wind overs. But the openers kept on going from both ends. That was fun to watch. The crowd stayed around, even in this cold weather. Thanks to them."
We were happy with that score at the halfway stage. We discussed about trying to target the down wind overs. But the openers kept on going from both ends. That was fun to watch. The crowd stayed around, even in this cold weather. Thanks to them."
That brings us to the end of our coverage for this match. The caravan will now move to Auckland, where the third T20I will be played on Friday, March 21. It will be an evening game starting at 7:15 PM local time (11:45 AM IST). Our coverage will begin one hour before. Do join us then. For now, it is the troika of Darpan Tikiya, Akshay Bhide and Yogesh Kumar signing off. Kia ora!