India on Sunday, New Zealand on Tuesday. Pakistan are now the favourites. Two days after breaking the World Cup jinx against arch-rivals India, Babar Azam & Co registered another comprehensive win, by five wickets, in their second ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021, Super 12 match. With two wins in two outings, Pakistan now sit at the top of Group 2 table with four points (net run rate +0.738). Azam won the toss, and opted to bowl first again. Haris Rauf took four wickets to help Pakistan restrict the Kiwis to 134/8 with none of the batters reaching 30. Then Mohammad Rizwan hit 33 off 34 even as New Zealand keep the fight alive with wickets in tensed middle overs. Then veteran Shoaib Malik (26 off 20) and flamboyant Asif Ali (27 off 12) stitched an unbeaten 48-run stand in 23 balls for the sixth wicket to take the 2009 champions home in Sharjah, UAE. Next, Pakistan face Afghanistan on October 29 and New Zealand take on India on October 31. Catch highlights and cricket scores of PAK vs NZ, ICC T20 World Cup 2021 match here:
10:57 PM IST: Result
Play resumes, and a dot to Asif Ali. Then a six, over mid-wicket. 2 in 9 now. And a double to sweeper cover to complete the chase in 18.4 overs. Pakistan win by five wickets. PAK - 135/5 (18.4); NZ 134/8 (20)
10:52 PM IST: Physio Back Again
Trent Boult with the penultimate over. A single as Shoaib Malik plays it to square leg. Physio is back again, and having a talk with Asif Ali. The batter was hit on the grill by a Tim Southee bouncer a while ago. Pakistan need 8 runs in 11 balls.
10:50 PM IST: Nine In 12
Mitchell Santner on with his final over. Shoaib Malik cuts the first for a four to third man. A double off the second, to mid-wicket. And a six, over long off. A single to rotate the strike. A double to mid-wicket to make it nine in 13. A dot. 15 from the over. 1/33 for Santner. 51 runs in the last five. Pakistan need 9 runs in 12 balls. PAK - 126/5 (18)
10:45 PM IST: 24 In 18
Tim Southee on with his last over. A dot, then Asif Ali hits the second ball for a six, over long off, then another, this time of long on. A shout for LBW. Not given, but Kiwis take the review. Missing middle stump bail. A dot, then a bouncer. Deflects into the grill. Concussion test for Ali. 1/25 for Southee. 13 from the over. Pakistan need 24 runs in 18 balls. PAK - 111/5 (17)
10:39 PM IST: 37 In 24
Ish Sodhi with his final over. Two singles, then two dots to Shoaib Malik. And a four, to long on. One leg bye to end the over. Seven from the over. His figures: 2/28. Pakistan need 37 runs in 24 balls. PAK - 98/5 (16)
10:33 PM IST: Five Down
Trent Boult returns for his third. A single off the second as Shoaib Malik plays it to third man. A dot, then Imad Wasim hits the fourth for a four through extra cover. And LBW. No review. Wasim goes for 11 off 12. Pakistan need 48 runs in 31 balls. PAK - 87/5 (14.5)
10:28 PM IST: 53 In 36
Ish Sodhi continues. Two singles, then a dot to Imad Wasim. A single, two wides and a single. Seven from the over. Pakistan need 53 runs in 36 balls. PAK - 82/4 (14)
10:24 PM IST: 60 In 24
James Neesham returns for his third over. Five runs from it. Pakistan need 60 in 42. PAK - 75/4 (13)
10:19 PM IST: Four Down
Ish Sodhi returns for his second over. Mohammad Rizwan hits the third for a four, then a wide. And he's trapped in front. No review. He goes for 33 off 34. Imad Wasim is the new man for Pakistan. PAK -69/4 (11.4)
10:14 PM IST: Stunner
Mitchell Santner continues. Five singles, and the wicket of Mohammad Hafeez (11 off 6), courtesy of a superb catch by Devon Conway at long-off. Conway dives to his left and pulls off a crazy, single-handed catch. Pakistan need 72 runs in 54 balls. Shoaib Malik is the new man. PAK - 63/3 (11)
10:06 PM IST: 77 In 60
James Neesham returns for his second. A dot, then a single. Mohammad Hafeez lofts the third over sweeper cover for a six. 11 from the over. Pakistan need 77 runs in 60 balls. PAK - 58/2 (10)
10:02 PM IST: Sodhi Strikes
Ish Sodhi on. Two dots, the Fakhar Zaman hits the third for a six over mid-wicket boundary. Two singles, and the wicket. Zaman is trapped in front. New Zealand take the review and it's hitting middle. Zaman goes for 11 off 17. Next man for Pakistan is Mohammad Hafeez. PAK 47/2 (9)
9:57 PM IST: Sluggish Pakistan
James Neesham gets his first over. Thre from it, including one leg bye. At this stage, New Zealand were 48/1. PAK - 39/1 (8)
9:52 PM IST: Santner Returns
Mitchell Santner returns for his second over. A dot then Mohammad Rizwan sweeps, and a four to fine leg boundary. Six runs from the over. PAK - 36/1 (7)
9:48 PM IST: Powerplay Over
Fakhar Zaman joins Mohammad Rizwan in the middle. A single to open his account, the another single as the Pakistani duo rotates the strike. A dot. Another. And another. Two runs and a wicket in the over. PAK - 30/1 (6)
9:44 PM IST: Babar Out
Tim Southee continues. And silence! Babar Azam (9 off 11), bowled. Change of pace doing the trick. 100 T20I wicket for Southee. PCK - 28/1 (5.1)
9:42 PM IST: Turning Into Tricky Chase
Trent Boult continues. Mohammad Rizwan hits the first ball for a four, to third man. Delicate touch. Two dots, then a single. A dot to Babar Azam, then a single to mid-off. Six from the over. PAK - 28/0 (5)
9:39 PM IST: Opening Stand Blossoms
Tim Southee continues. A dot, then a single as Babar Azam plays it to deep. A dot, then a four to fine leg. Mohammad Rizwan connects his pull shot. A single to fine leg, again. A double to mid-wicket to end the over. Eight from it. PAK - 22/0 (4)
9:35 PM IST: Boult On
Bowling change. Trent Boult on. Mohammad Rizwan pulls the first ball for a four, to mid-wicket boundary. But only five from the over. PAK - 14/0 (3)
9:29 PM IST: Tidy Over
Tim Southee with the second over. One wide and a single. PAK - 9/0 (2)
9:24 PM IST: Chase Begins
Mitchell Santner with the new ball. A dot, then a single as Mohammad Rizwan plays the second to long on. A four to mid-wicket boundary as Babar Azam plays a lofted drive. Two more singles and a dot. Seven from the over. Target - 135
9:11 PM IST: Innings Break
Haris Rauf with the final over. New man Ish Sodhi takes a single off the first. A double to mid-off as Mitchell Santner plays a lofted drive. One bye, then a slap to deep point. Santner then finds the gap and four to deep extra cover. Rauf is not happy. And middle stump to end the innings. Santner out for 6 off 5. Rauf's figures: 4/22. 34 runs and four wickets in the last five overs. NZ - 134/8 (20)
9:07 PM IST: Seven Down
Shaheen Afridi with the penultimate over. A dot to Tim Seifert. Then another one, on the toes. Pakistan take a review. Not out. Missing everything, long way off the leg. A wild swing, to deep mid-wicket for a single. Half chance for Hasan Ali. Another shout for LBW, against Mitchell Santner. No review this time. But one leg bye for the Kiwis. Seifert then guides the next ball to fine leg boundary. Som sweep against real pace. And first wicket for Afridi tonight. Seifert (8 off 8), thick edge, and caught by Mohammad Hafeez at backward point. Six from the over. Afridi's figures: 1/21, including a maiden. NZ - 125/7 (19)
8:58 PM IST: Six Down
And another one. This time, Hasan Ali takes a tumbling catch at deep mid-wicket to send Glenn Phillips (13 off 15) back. Two wickets in three balls. Mitchell Santner is the new man. NZ - 116/6 (17.3)
8:55 PM IST: Five Down
Haris Rauf returns for his third and gets the wicket of Devon Conway (27 off 24), caught at deep by Babar Azam. Tim Seifert is the new man. NZ - 116/5 (17.1)
8:54 PM IST: Finally, A Boundary
Shaheen Afridi returns for his third over. Two singles, then one leg bye to Devon Conway. The singles, then a four to long off by Glenn Phillips. The previous four was off the last ball of the 13th over, by Conway. Nine from the over. NZ - 116/4 (17)
8:48 PM IST: Busy Over
Hasan Ali with his third over. Busy one. Five singles then a double. Devon Conway is unbeaten on 24 off 20. His stand with Glenn Phillips (8 off 10) is now worth 16 off 18. NZ - 107/4 (16)
8:43 PM IST: 100 Up
Haris Rauf returns for his second over. Five singles, and 100 up for New Zealand. A dot to end the over. 40 runs and a wicket in the last five overs. NZ - 100/4 (15)
8:32 PM IST: Williamson Run Out
Hasan Ali returns and Kane Williamson (25 off 26) is run out off the first ball. Ali reacts quickly and hits the target even as the Kiwi skipper tries a quick u-turn. Blink and miss dismissal. Glenn Phillips is the new man. NZ - 90/4 (13.1)
8:30 PM IST: Devon Fours
Shadab Khan with his third. Devon Conway hits fours off the last three balls. 15 from the over. 27 runs in the last 12 balls. NZ - 90/3 (13)
8:25 PM IST: Williamson Survives
Mohammad Hafeez continues. Kane Williamson tries to reverse sweep the third balll, but ends up getting a LBW verdict. But review saves him. Then the Kiwi skipper hits the next for a four, to the mid-wicket boundary. Then a one-handed six, over long on. 12 from the over. NZ - 75/3 (12)
8:18 PM IST: 25 Runs In Last Five
Devon Conway joins Kane Williamson in the middle. Four runs from Mohammad Hafeez's first over. 25 runs and three wickets in the last five overs. NZ - 60/3 (10)
8:12 PM IST: Three Down
Mohammad Hafeez gets his first. And picks a wicket very first ball. James Neesham (1 off 2) holes out at deep, caught by Fakhar Zaman. NZ - 56/3 (9.1)
8:07 PM IST: Two Down
Imad Wasim on with his final over. Daryl Mitchell mishits a six off the first, over long off boundary. Chance for Shaheen Afridi there, but watches it sail over. Another mishit, but this time Fakhar Zaman takes the catch at long on. Mitchell goes for 27 off 20. James Neesham joins Kane Williamson. 54/2 (8.2)
8:05 PM IST: Pakistan Dominate
Shadab Khan with his first over. Three from the over, including one leg bye. In the previous over, Imad Wasim conceded three singles. NZ - 48/1 (8)
7:55 PM IST: Guptill Goes
Haris Rauf strikes first over. A yorker to start, to Martin Guptill (17 off 20). Then bowled. The Kiwi opener plays on. Kane Williamson is the new batter. NZ - 36/1 (5.2)
7:51 PM IST: Big Over
Hasan Ali gets his first over. And 13 from the over as Daryl Mitchell and Martin Guptill hit a six off the first and four off the last ball respectively. NZ - 34/0 (5)
7:44 PM IST: Afridi Leaks Runs
Shaheen Afridi continues. Daryl Mitchell hits the fifth ball for a four, to mid-off boundary. Eight from the over. NZ - 15/0 (3)
7:37 PM IST: Good Start For Pakistan
Imad Wasim shares the new ball. Daryl Mitchell takes a single off the second ball, then a dot. Two singles, then Martin Guptill hits a four past point. Seven from the over. In the first over, Shaheen Afridi produced a maiden, to Guptil. NZ - 7/0 (2)
7:30 PM IST: Match Begins
Shaheen Afridi with the new ball. Martin Guptill to take the first strike. His opening partner is Daryl Mitchell.
7:11 PM IST: Playing XIs
Pakistan are unchanged.
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi.
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Tim Seifert (wk), Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Trent Boult.
7:04 PM IST: Toss
Pakistan win the toss, opt to bowl first against New Zealand.
6:52 PM IST: Just In
New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson is out of the tournament with a calf injury.
6:10 PM IST: The Opening Pair
Focus will be on Pakistan's opening pair, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. They looked peerless against India. For the record, they have three 150+ stands this calendar year.
5:35 PM IST: Head-to-head
Tonight, Pakistan and New Zealand will meet for the 25th time. Pakistan lead the head-to-head record 14-10. Last time they met, Pakistan beat the Kiwis by four wickets.
9:11 PM IST: Innings Break
Haris Rauf with the final over. New man Ish Sodhi takes a single off the first. A double to mid-off as Mitchell Santner plays a lofted drive. One bye, then a slap to deep point. Santner then finds the gap and four to deep extra cover. Rauf is not happy. And middle stump to end the innings. Santner out fot 6 off 5. Rauf's figures: 4/22. 34 runs and four wickets in the last five overs. NZ - 134/8 (20)
