Pakistan's Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub shone in the first T20I against New Zealand, as the home side set a competitive total of 182 for the touring team to chase here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday night.
Both left-handed batters scored 47 each, with Fakhar anchoring the innings and Saim playing the role of aggressor. Pakistan's top-order faced early trouble as their dependable opening pair of Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan perished cheaply. New Zealand's Adam Milne bowled with pace and precision, claiming both wickets in the first two overs of the innings.
With Pakistan reeling at 30/2 in the fifth over, Fakhar and Saim turned the tables on the touring side and stitched a valiant 79-run partnership to anchor the innings. However, Saim's dismissal sparked a middle-order collapse that saw Pakistan slip to 131/6, with Fakhar being the latest to walk back. He remained the joint top-scorer for the home side, hitting six boundaries and two sixes in his 47-run knock.
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All-rounders Imad Wasim and Faheem Ashraf made vital contributions with the bat, as Faheem fired 16-ball 22 runs with the help of 2 fours and 1 six while Imad played 13 balls to score 16 runs, hitting 2 fours. Haris Rauf's cameo of 11 runs at the backend also bolstered Pakistan to a decent total of 182 all out.
Matt Henry led the bowling attack for New Zealand with a hat-trick as he clinched 3 wickets for 32, while Adam Milne and Ben Lister picked up two wickets each. In response, New Zealand will need to chase down Pakistan's total of 182 to secure a win in the first T20I of the five-match series.
SCORES IN BRIEF
PAKISTAN 182 all out in 19.5 overs (Fakhar Zaman 47, Saim Ayub 47, Faheem Ashraf 22; Matt Henry 3-32, Ben Lister 2-30, Adam Milne 2-51) vs NEW ZEALAND.