March 18, 2025: New Zealand secured a five-wicket win over Pakistan in the second T20I of the five-match series at Dunedin on Tuesday, extending their lead to 2-0 in the series. Despite the defeat, Pakistan's captain Salman Ali Agha praised his team's performance, especially their fielding and the bowling efforts of Haris Rauf, who took three wickets.
Agha acknowledged that the game was an improvement over their first loss, citing better batting and solid fielding as positives. However, he emphasized the need for improvement in the powerplay, both with the bat and the ball. "It was freezing. It was a good game compared to the last game. We batted better. Fielding was outstanding. Bowling in patches was good. The bounce we need to understand is different. After the powerplay, we bowled well. Haris bowled well. We need to be better in the powerplay. As a batting unit, we need to have a better powerplay. And same as a bowling unit as well," Agha said in the post-match presentation.
In the match, Pakistan's top order struggled against New Zealand's bowling attack, with only Agha making a notable contribution with 46 runs. Shadab Khan (26 off 14 balls) and Shaheen Afridi (22* off 14 balls) helped lower the order bring Pakistan to 135/9 in 15 overs during the rain-affected game. Ben Sears was the standout bowler for New Zealand, taking two wickets for just 23 runs in his three overs.
During the chase of 136, New Zealand's openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen set the tone, with Allen smashing Mohammed Ali for three sixes in the second over and Seifert following up with four sixes off Shaheen Afridi. Despite losing wickets after a quick-fire start, a vital knock of 21 from Mitchell Hay guided New Zealand to victory with 11 balls and five wickets to spare. Haris Rauf's 3/20 was the highlight of Pakistan's bowling efforts, but it was not enough to prevent New Zealand from taking the series lead.
Seifert was named 'Player of the Tournament' for his explosive knock. Looking ahead, Pakistan will need to make key improvements in the next game, as New Zealand now leads the series 2-0 with three matches remaining.
New Zealand Squad: Michael Bracewell, Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Will O'Rourke, Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi.
Pakistan Squad: Salman Ali Agha (c), Shadab Khan, Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Jahandad Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousaf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim, Usman Khan.
Last Updated on March 18, 2025 by Disha Rojhe
