Pak Outplayed NZ Setting Records!

Pak had lost 4 consecutive T20I series in 2015/16 including the whitewash at the hands of Eng at UAE in Nov 2015 under the captaincy of Shahid Afridi and exhibited dismal performance in World T20 2016. The struggle lead to the shift of captaincy from Afridi to Sarfraz after the fighting performance of later as captain of 'Quetta Gladiators' in 1st edition of PSL. Sicne then, Pak has not looked back registering 11 consecutive series wins.

Last night was no different for the green shirts and they never looked threatened to lose. Pak known over the years to be bad at chasing, seem to have removed the tag especially in T20I cricket. Sarfraz attributes it to the depth in batting and perfect blend of experience with youth with every single individual committed towards winning. Pak winning rate in 2017 and 18 when chasing has been 100%

Last night Williamson was quick to call to bat after winning the toss & Munro got the Kiwis off the a dream start putting some serious pressure on the green shirts. Pak catching remained questionable throughout the season and Hafeez was the culprit last night dropping Munro at 32 then a couple of run out chances were missed earlier in the innings. Sarfraz is looking to be in a habit of making one wrong bowling change every match. In 1st T20 Imad was made to bowl 3rd consecutive over from one end and in 2nd T20I Hasan went for 16 runs in 17th over of innings and Sarfraz persisted with Hasan to bowl 19th and he went for another 16 runs. Pertinent to mention here that Faheem had an over left in his quota of four. Hasan just failed to find the yorker length and batsmen were able to find full-tosses and over-pitched deliveries to punish him.

Shaheen, was the opposite, as he is cementing his place in T20Is keeping the likes of Usman Shinwari out of XI. He finished his spell 20/3(4) bowling over # 6, 14, 18 and 20. He exhibited variety of skills from good length to yorkers and great pace to perfectly pitched slower deliveries. 

NZ set up a competitive total of 153 through the brilliance of Munro and Anderson batting at SR of 150+. Williamson believed this to be perfect total and later declared his team's bowling as the reason for defeats. Ajaz Patel has been the greatest disappointment for him.

Pak opted to bring Fakhar back to open with Babar Azam. Fakhar looked in better touch and managed to hit three 4s and a towering 6. Babar was outclass once again who aptly paced his innings with perfect cricketing shots making the chase look an effortless one. He kept the required run rate under check and relieved the pressure when Kiwis managed to build some. But then he threw his wicket away after 8 runs were scored off 5 balls which was exactly the required run rate at that time. 

Cricket Gurus have always been of the view that Hafeez is not a new ball batsman as he struggles against the swing but he still deserves to be part of the squad as an all-rounder batting in the middle order and this should hold true for ODIs. He is proving us right with new assigned role and his 34*(21) took the load off Asif and Malik. He has scored 190 at an avg of 63.3 with a great strike rate of 134.7 in last five T20Is. Needing 7 off the last over, he looked composed and hit a perfect hit up and over cover to wrap up the game with 2 balls to spare.

Match Summary - Pak vs NZ 2nd T20I

Williamson looked content with his performance after last game but had his shoulders drooping last night. On the contrary, Sarfraz spoke of the confidence that he has due to depth in batting highlighting the batsman like Hasan Ali at number 10 position. Experts are talking whether Pak be able to whitewash NZ like they did with Aus last month as NZ face Pak for last T20I of the series at 2100 PST(1600 GMT).

Man of the Match: Shaheen Afridi

Batsman of the Match: Muhammad Hafeez

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Pak Continue to Dominate T20 Cricket - Pak v NZ 1st T20I

Kiwis had been away from international cricket but they looked professional in 1st T20I of the series. Pak young aggressive batsmen Farhan and Asif looked rusty once again despite promotion of the later allowing him more time to settle. Hafeez proved his mettle once again with aptly paced clean aggressive innings adding 67(51) with Asif. Faheem did a selfish act where he could have run to save dangerous Malik. Imad 10 off last 2 balls of Pak inning made the total look much respectable i.e. 148/6 that later proved to be the difference in the end.

Spin to start the proceedings worked aptly once again but Sarfraz opted for Imad to bowl 3 consecutive over from one end allowed good time for Munro to judge the spin and pace, who took 16 off the over. Thereafter it was all about Munro until 13th ov of innings until Shadab dismissed him while rest of the batsmen were playing around him giving him the strike. Hafeez disrupted the momentum forcing NZ to apply brakes and Sarfraz made good changes thereafter forcing pressure resulting in wickets of Munro and Williamson. However, Sarfraz always seems to be reluctant introducing certain bowlers in powerplay, whatever the situation may be. 

NZ exhibited brilliance and spark in the field especially through Phillips; & Pak was not much different as Shadab running out Grandhomme on a direct hit plunged Kiwis into further trouble. Once the required run-rate jumped over 12 run per over in 17th over, it was real test when the opposition has bowling like Pak on these surfaces and a big park to clear, despite the massive names in batting list like Anderson and Taylor. But the head-to-head comparison kept suggesting otherwise and kept the interest alive of cricketing fraternity. Hasan wkt taking ability & Shaheen skills and pace kept the NZ under check. Imad hit 10 off last 2 of Pak innings and NZ needed similar brilliance from Taylor. 9 needed off 2 balls, Shaheen runs in, low full-toss....& 2 only. 'Will Shaheen bowl No-ball?' was going through Kiwis' mind. Goes for FOUR but 'Men in Green' raise their arms and thump celebrating 7th consecutive win in T20I.
Bowling against a team like NZ, the opposition needs to get wkts and Hasan did it for Pak 3/35 while 0/13(4) from Hafeez cannot be forgotten in bowling either which applied brakes on NZ scoring rate when Munro was batting.
New Zealanders must be pleased at taking their 1st encounter as deep and close in conditions alien to them. Williamson looked positive and content with his team performance.

Man of The Match: Muhammad Hafeez

Best Batsman: Colin Munro

Courtesy: Pakistan Cricket Board (TheRealPCB)

Clean Sweep! Shaheens vs Kangroos - Game 3

Pitch report suggested a slow and dry strip which would play the same with few more cracks to support the spin. It looked to be 140+ pitch and Sarfraz along with the management made two expected changes to play Farhan for Fakhar and Usman for Shaheen.

Babar started off from where he left in the last encounter giving brisk start to Pak with an ideal powerplay 54/0(6). On the other end, Farhan was found edgy but managed to hit a few in the middle. With 74 without any loss at the end of 10 overs, appeared to be a 170 innings.

Things got tough for the batsmen to come as Farhan and Babar walked off with 97/2(13.1). Malik missed out on a few full-tosses on spin bowling early on in his innings as the intent was to get used to the pace. Hafeez looked impressive once again in his new role ending up at strike rate of 160, highest of all the Pak batsmen, to help Pak get to 150 exactly in full quota of overs.

People might give excuse that Pak failed in three games when it comes to utilizing the solid platform owing to the inability of the new batsmen to judge pace on the pitch. But let's not forget, these are home grounds for Pak and lot of international cricket along with PSL are played which give them enough opportunity to understand the pace offered on these strips. The said inability with yet another failure of Asif against spin give Pak something to think about.

Australian batsmen walked in with positive intent and sent in Carey to open, who treated Imad brutally in 1st of the inn reducing required run rate from 7.55 to 6.9 run per over. Short burst was followed by usual collapse of 2 wickets in 3 deliveries as Faheem and Hafeez chipped in with a wicket each. Catching remained a problem for Pak and this game was no different; Hasan dropped Lynn, followed by Shadab dropping Short and finally Faheem dropped Tye. Courtesy Maxwell, McDermott set a unique record by running himself out third time in three matches and Maxwell couldn't last much either. No one looked threatening thereafter against the skillful bowling of Shadab, Hasan and Usman. Finally Aus was castled completely at 117 which is 30th time Pak dismissed a team in T20I, most by any team and Pak registered first clean sweep of Kangroos' at the hands of Shaheens. BRAVO!