Save Our Pak
In the second T20I held at Dunedin, New Zealand defeated Pakistan by five wickets in a rain-affected match on Saturday. With this win, New Zealand leads the series 2-0. The teams were only able to play 15 overs each due to bad weather, but it did not disappoint spectators.Pakistan failed to get going with their batting despite the top order being experienced players.
The early loss of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan made things difficult for them and with the middle-order batsmen also under pressure from New Zealand’s bowlers, Pakistan found it tough. The bowlers, Lockie Ferguson and Ish Sodhi, were effective in choking the runs and also grabbing the key wickets.
Pakistan, thanks to the late effort by Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf, could only manage 135 for 9 runs. With that total, it would be a tough task to defend for any team.New Zealand began their chase confidently. Finn Allen gave them a quick start with 33 off 17 balls, while Tim Seifert took charge with 45 off 22 balls, hitting four sixes. Although Pakistan seemed to come back into the game with the loss of a couple of quick wickets, the hosts managed to stay ahead and reached 137/5 in 13.1 overs.
New Zealand is now on the verge of winning the series due to this victory. Pakistan have to win the next match to stay in contention for series glory but will only have 2 days to regroup for the third T20I on March 20.
