The first T20I did not turn out to be a success for Shaheen Shah Afridi as a skipper after New Zealand beat the Pakistan team by 46 runs.
Pakistan had won the toss and opted to field first. Playing the first innings, New Zealand had set the whopping target of 227 runs at the loss of 8 wickets. Pakistan’s batting lineup bottled up at 180 runs with Babar Azam, the former skipper, being the top scorer among all.
Babar Azam scored 54 runs, meanwhile Saim Ayub gave a hopeful and strong start to the team. He scored 27 runs on just 8 balls but unfortunately was run out.
Bowler Abbas Afridi and Usama Mir debuted for Pakistan in the match. While Afridi put up excellent debut performances, fans seemed unhappy with the performance of Usama Mir.
Bowlers were pretty expensive as they leaked massive runs to New Zealand helping them set the big total for the team.
Fans are upset with the performance of Azam Khan who made a comeback in the T20 squad of Pakistan Cricket Team.
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Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson both scored half-centuries, contributing to New Zealand reaching a total of 226 runs. Despite getting promising starts from players such as Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, and Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan couldn’t capitalize on these opportunities while chasing the target.
Shaheen Afridi, the captain of Pakistan, expresses his pride in leading the team and acknowledges the challenges faced by the pacers due to the short boundaries. He emphasizes that this is just the beginning and assures that the team will strive to perform their best in upcoming matches. Afridi gives credit to Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell for their impressive batting performances.
He highlights the positives of Abbas Afridi’s debut and Saim Ayub’s innings, emphasizing the importance of giving young players time before the World Cup. Afridi concludes by stating the need for improved accuracy with the ball, especially with back-to-back games ahead.