END OF OVER:20 | 7 Runs | PAK: 158/5 (23 runs required, RR: 7.90)
- Sarfaraz Ahmed11 (8b)
- Shoaib Malik15 (13b)
- Adam Milne4-0-26-2
- Mitchell McClenaghan4-0-43-0
Tune into ESPN Match Day to find out what went wrong for Pakistan in that manic chase, north-east corner of the web page.
10.50pm A shoddy batting display from Pakistan, to say the least, save Sharjeel Khan. A blistering start from Sharjeel but Pakistan have ended in a disastrous whimper. New Zealand weren't sensational with the ball, frequent and regular loose deliveries, but were good in the field and field placements and stuck to the basics. Pakistan failed to find the boundary in the last 5.1 overs, symbolic of their struggles. Akmal and Shehzad just tightened up in the middle. Nonetheless, credit to NZ for keeping it simple. Not much to say, except for the fact that Pakistan lost it more than NZ winning it.
Guptill, the Man of the Match: "A bit of tightness in the hamstring (reason for being off the field). We found early that the wicket was good than what we have been playing on. Wanted to be aggressive and it paid off for us. Got to keep playing the same way, we got enough power in our batting line-up to keep going. The new ball came on a bit more, hopefully we can keep it going."
Kane Williamson: "Nice to play on a really good surface, the batting unit played their roles really nicely and the bowlers pulled it back nicely after a tough start. Slightly above par, 180 wicket on any wicket can be a touch chase. They certainly played well in the first 6. We played on a couple of wickets that spun viciously but the spinners adapted here. Good bunch of lads, nice we are playing well and our strengths have been playing some smart cricket.
Shahid Afridi: "First of all, want to congratulate him (Williamson). The bowlers bowled well in the middle, we played well in the first 6 but after that we didn't. Easily we could have scored more than 6 but we didnt. We tried to hit the ball, tried to go for the boundary and we played a lot of dot balls. We still keep repeating the same mistakes, every game we are making the mistakes. We have to forget this game and focus on Australia. "
Shoddy batting display
Afridi with his hands in his head
Tim: "no boundary since last 5.2 overs. So disappointing."
The last over. Milne will finish.
END OF OVER:19 | 9 Runs | PAK: 151/5 (30 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 7.94, RRR: 30.00)
- Sarfaraz Ahmed7 (5b)
- Shoaib Malik12 (10b)
- Mitchell McClenaghan4-0-43-0
- Adam Milne3-0-19-2
Shahed : "Pakistan should've sent Sarfaraz earlier...in place of Khalid Latif, may be. " - Definitely
Sushil: "Not conceding a boundary in the 16,17 and 18th over of a T20 game is some serious death bowling."
END OF OVER:18 | 5 Runs 1 Wkt | PAK: 142/5 (39 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 7.88, RRR: 19.50)
- Sarfaraz Ahmed1 (1b)
- Shoaib Malik9 (8b)
- Adam Milne3-0-19-2
- Mitchell McClenaghan3-0-34-0
Big trouble as Sarfraz enters. Sarfraz batting four positions too low.
Manish: "Never thought I will see U Akmal struggle this badly to time the ball. He is one of the cleanest hitters of the ball in Pakistan.."
Umar Akmal c Guptill b Milne 24 (37m 26b 0x4 0x6) SR: 92.30
Gowtham: "Both the Mitch-s going for plenty in their first over but winning it with some impressive bowling in their second spell"
Khurram: "These two not being able to hit the boundaries, this is not the case of playing all 20 overs. Come on!!"
No boundaries in more than two overs, Pak need more than two in this one. Milne has the ball. Could be the match-defining moment.
END OF OVER:17 | 8 Runs | PAK: 137/4 (44 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 8.05, RRR: 14.66)
- Umar Akmal22 (23b)
- Shoaib Malik7 (6b)
- Mitchell McClenaghan3-0-34-0
- Ish Sodhi4-0-25-1
Pak in need of a boundary
Rizwan Zafar : "Umar Akmal not middling it today, going at less than run a ball and not finding gaps. "
Farhan: "Surely Akmal needs to use the long handle now! He has been in for a while."
Ashokkumar Ramk: "With the pressure building up, Even the slow bowlers are looking threatening. Look at how Sodhi is bowling those flat deliveries and giving just singles."
A boundary an over atleast required from here.