Fast bowler Haris Rauf compiled a career-best 4-22 to assistance Pakistan rally for a five-wicket triumph implicit injury-hit New Zealand but Devon Conway stole the amusement with an almighty drawback astatine the T20 World Cup.
Rauf’s variations kept New Zealand to 134-8 successful its opening Group 1 crippled aft Pakistan skipper Babar Azam won the flip and opted to field.
READ MORE: Daniel Ricciardo responds to 'dirty driving' assertion from F1 rival
READ MORE: Team photograph exposes divided successful South African T20 implicit BLM protest
The acquisition of Shoaib Malik (27 not out) and power-hitting of Asif Ali (27 not out) past quashed New Zealand’s hopes of a precocious comeback and carried Pakistan to 136-5 successful 18.4 overs to gain the squad its 2nd triumph successful 3 days.
Asif smashed 2 precocious sixes successful Tim Southee’s 1 implicit and past hoisted Trent Boult implicit wide mid-on for a six earlier scampering for 2 runs astatine the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
“It’s ever bully to win. We’ll instrumentality this assurance guardant successful the tournament,” Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said. “The mode Shaheen (Afridi) and particularly Haris Rauf bowled was precise impressive.”
Pakistan bushed India, 1 of the tourney favorites, by 10 wickets connected Sunday. The squad has 3 much games to spell against Afghanistan, Namibia and Scotland and is present among the contenders for a spot successful the semifinals.
New Zealand missed accelerated bowler Lockie Fergusion, who was ruled retired of the tourney due to the fact that of a torn calf earlier the game. The ICC aboriginal approved Adam Milne arsenic the replacement for Ferguson.
Southee got Babar (9) aboriginal for his 100th wicket successful T20s erstwhile helium knocked backmost the mediate stump successful the sixth over.
Legspinner Ish Sodhi (2-28) past trapped Fakhar Zaman (11) and Mohammad Rizwan (33) limb earlier wicket disconnected his crisp turners, In betwixt those strikes, Devon Conway made a two-handed diving Superman drawback successful the heavy to the dismay of Mohammad Hafeez (11).
Conway's spectacular drawback made a immense content online, yet the Kiwis were inactive up against it.
When Boult nailed Imad Wasim lbw, Pakistan inactive needed 48 runs disconnected the past 31 balls. But Asif utilized his power-hitting and besides braved a crisp bouncer from Southee which struck him connected the helmet.
“It’s precise disappointing astatine the end,” Williamson said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t nail things towards the backmost end, but we were up against a precise bully broadside successful Pakistan and congratulations to them.”
Earlier, Rauf was arsenic bully with the caller and aged shot aft Shaheen Afridi started by bowling a maiden implicit to Martin Guptill.
Rauf hails from Rawalpindi, the metropolis wherever New Zealand abandoned its limited-overs circuit to Pakistan due to the fact that of a information menace past period minutes earlier the flip successful the archetypal ODI.
Rauf made an contiguous interaction disconnected his 2nd transportation erstwhile helium bushed Guptill with gait arsenic the shot rattled the stumps aft deflecting disconnected the batsman’s pads successful the sixth over.
New Zealand tried to accelerate against the spinners with Conway (27) smashing 3 consecutive boundaries successful legspinner Shadab Khan’s 1 implicit earlier Hasan Ali ran retired Williamson (25) successful the 13th over.
Rauf returned successful the precocious overs and had the wickets of Conway and Glenn Phillips (13), and past rounded disconnected the spell by having Mitchell Santner cleanable bowled disconnected the past delivery.
English (US) ·