The thrilling five-match T20I series between New Zealand and Pakistan got off to an electrifying start, with New Zealand securing a convincing 46-run victory in the first match at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday. Both teams are now gearing up for the second encounter, scheduled to take place at Seddon Park on Sunday, January 14. Expectations are high for another intense clash between these two formidable teams. 

In the opening match of the series, New Zealand showcased their cricketing brilliance, both with the bat and ball. Asked to bat first, after Pakistan’s new T20I skipper Shaheen Afridi won the toss, New Zealand posted an impressive total of (226) runs for the loss of (8) wickets from (20) overs. The top-order batsmen Finn Allen, Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell displayed exceptional forms with their scores of (34), (57) and (61) respectively. 

Pakistan's bowlers struggled to contain the New Zealand batting lineup, and despite a few breakthroughs, they were unable to restrict the hosts to a manageable score. Shaheen Afridi, Aamir Jamal and Usama Mir remained quite expensive. 

Pakistan's chase began on a steady note with Saim Ayub and Mohammad Rizwan scoring (27) and (25) repsectively. But, they both couldn’t get going as they lost their wickets, leaving Pakistan in lurch. Babar Azam, meanwhile, put up an outstanding show with the bat with his 57-run knock, giving Pakistan hope to win the battle, but his wicket put all hopes down for Pakistan.

New Zealand’s pace attack, spearheaded by Tim Southee, struck at crucial intervals, bowling out Pakistan for (180) in (18) overs. The visitors found it challenging to recover from the early setbacks, eventually falling (46) runs short of win. Heading into the second game, it will be important for Pakistan to return to winning ways to keep themselves alive in the series. 

NZ Probable XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears

PAK Probable XI: Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan (wk), Aamer Jamal, Usama Mir/Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi (c), Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf