AUCKLAND – New Zealand beat Pakistan by 46 runs in the first T20I of the five-match series in Auckland on Friday.
Chasing a challenging 227-run target for victory, Pakistan was all out at 180 runs in 18 overs despite a good start.
Babar Azam remained the top scorer with 57 runs. Saim Ayb scored 27, Mohammad Rizwan 25 and Iftikhar Ahmed 24 runs. Aamer Jamal was not out at 14 runs.
Tim Southee bagged four wickets, Adam Milne and Ben Sears two each while Ish Sodhi took one wicket.
Daryll Mitchell was named player of the match.
This is the highest aggregate total (406 runs) in a T20I match involving Pakistan and New Zealand.
After being asked to bat first, the Black Caps managed to reach 226 runs for a loss of eight wickets in the allotted 20 overs.
Daryl Mitchell remained the highest scorer with 61 runs. Skipper Kane Williamson scored 57 runs. Cameos of Finn Allen (35), Mark Chapman (26) and Glenn Phillips (19) helped New Zealand to set a challenging target for the visiting Green Shirts.
Shaheen Shah Afridi and Abbas Afridi bagged three wickets each while Haris Rauf took two wickets.
Saim Ayub took four catches, the highest number in a T20I match for Pakistan.
Previously, the record was held by Yasir Shah with three catches.
Pakistan Playing XI: Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayb, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan (WK), Amer Jamal, Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf
New Zealand Playing XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Adam Milne, Matthew Henry, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears
