New Zealand beat Pakistan by 5 Wickets with over 6 overs remaining in their first warmup encounter. Pakistan Bowlers looked very flat on this Hyderabad flat wicket. Ravindra provided New Zealand with what they were looking for. He scored 97 runs facing 72 balls. In his inning, he smashed 16 fours, along with a maximum. Kane Williamson retired hurt after scoring his 50. Mitchell, Neesham, and Chapman have blown away Pakistan’s bowling lineup. They chased down this massive target in 43.4 overs. A thumping victory for the Black Caps.
Pakistan won the toss and decided to have a go. The start was not ideal for Pakistan, and the initial powerplay only yielded them 33 runs for 1 wicket. Pakistan lost the second wicket on 45 in the 12th over of the match. After that, Babar and Rizwan steadied the ship for Pakistan by adding 114 for 110 deliveries. With Babar’s 80 and Rizwan’s 100, Pakistan set a good platform for the remaining batters. Saud Shakeel’s 75 runs helped Pakistan to post a great total on the board.
Henry, Santner, Ferguson, and Neesham were the pick of the bowlers on a batting paradise wicket. Neesham, Ferguson, and Henry took one wicket each. Shatner got two wickets in his 8 overs spill, giving away only 39 runs.
Pakistani bowlers looked very flat. They conceded runs and didn’t bowl in the right areas. Usama Mir was the only bowler who took wickets but was given plenty of runs. Muhammad Wasim, Agha, and Waseem are the other bowlers who took one wicket piece. That was below average bowling performance from Pakistan bowlers.
There was no Shaheen today. Rauf only bowled a few overs but remained expensive. Shadab didn’t ball in the whole inning, which was surprising. Iftikhar wasn’t given bowling. These are the main points of today’s warmup match between the Green Shirts and Black Caps. The Black Caps thrashing Pakistan in this practice match will be a good morale booster for the men in Black. Pakistan on the other hand, will be thinking to come out in next warmup with something special.
