Pakistan cricket team started its T20I series against New Zealand with an emphatic win, thanks to a stunning bowling performance by Haris Rauf and impressive batting by Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub.
The first T20I, played on Friday night here at the Gaddafi Stadium, turned out to be a one-sided affair with Pakistan dominating proceedings. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Both Fakhar and Saim 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 (16) and Faheem Ashraf (22) also made vital contributions with the bat. 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.
Chasing the decent target of 183, New Zealand got off to a poor start, losing both openers early. Mark Chapman tried to steady the ship with a well-made 34 off 20 balls, but he did not receive much support from the other end. James Neesham scored 15 off 15 balls, and Tom Latham made 20 off 24 balls, but their efforts were not enough to take New Zealand close to the target. New Zealand were eventually bowled out for just 94 runs in 18.3 overs, giving Pakistan an 88-run victory.
The star of the show for Pakistan was Haris Rauf, who bowled with great pace and accuracy to pick up four wickets for just 18 runs in his four overs. Imad Wasim was also impressive, taking two wickets for just two runs in his two overs.
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The two teams will now meet again for the second T20I today (Saturday) here at the same venue. Pakistan will be looking to continue their winning form, while New Zealand will be hoping to bounce back and level the 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 94 all out (Mark Chapman 34, Tom Latham 20, James Neesham 15; Haris Rauf 4-18, Imad Wasim 2-2) by 88 runs.