AUCKLAND: Pakistan outsmarted New Zealand by stifling their feared batting barrage to win the opening Twenty20 International by 16 runs here at Eden Park on Friday.

One-time bad boy Mohammad Amir may have been the centre of attention in his comeback game, but it was Shahid Afridi’s astute captaincy and the miserly bowling by Imad Wasim that made the difference.

Amir brought to an end a five-year exile from international cricket when he took to the field in the first game of the three-match series.

He was the only man not to bat in Pakistan’s innings of 171-8, after they batted on losing the toss, and the left-armer took 1-31 from his four overs, opening the bowling as Pakistan dismissed New Zealand for 155 in reply.

Opener Mohammad Hafeez top-scored with 61 off 47 balls in Pakistan’s competitive innings, but captain Shahid Afridi was his team’s match-winner, scoring 23, taking 2-26, three catches, and a run-out.

“That was a great start, especially in batting,” Afridi said. “Mohammad Hafeez played a great innings, and it was a great team effort.

“We just arrived two days ago, and the boys aren’t used to the pitches yet so they played normal cricket, and Hafeez and Ahmed Shezhad brought us some big runs in the first six overs.

“With 171, I was very much confident. I must give credit to the fast bowlers, especially Umar Gul, who came back from injury, and Amir, who both bowled very well at the right time.”

Amir was 18 when he played his last match for Pakistan, in a Test against England at Lord’s from which revelations of conspiracy and spot-fixing brought his glittering young career crashing down.

Now 23, he stepped over the boundary rope and onto Eden Park to resume his international career.

His reception was muted: There was neither cheering nor booing, and no sledging from the New Zealanders; there were no proferred hands of welcome nor any backslaps from his team-mates.

Amir’s return was simply accepted as an inevitability. He was recognised as one who had made errors as a young man, under the influence of others, and who had paid the penalty for those mistakes and who was trying to pull together the tattered threads of his life and his career.

Amir’s first ball was inauspicious -- a wide -- but he bowled two relatively tidy spells at around 135kph, and showed an ability to contain batsmen. He had two catches put down off his bowling, one by Afridi, and he seemed to have good rhythm.

New Zealand made a poor start to their chase for Pakistan’s total when captain Kane Williamson ran out his opening partner Martin Guptill in the second over. Williamson atoned to some extent when he made 70, his highest score in T20s.

He put on 80 for the second wicket with Colin Munro, who made 56, but the New Zealand innings collapsed after Munro’s dismissal, and though Williamson lingered until the final over, the home team was never going to win.

“Pakistan played very well,” Williamson said. “I think 170 was a reasonable total to chase but we see-sawed a little bit with the bat. We got off to a reasonable start and lost a lot of momentum in the middle which made life pretty difficult.”

Scoreboard

PAKISTAN:

M. Hafeez c Astle b Milne61 A. Shehzad c Elliott b Milne16 S. Maqsood c Ronchi b Santner0 S. Malik c Elliott b Santner20 U. Akmal c Munro b Milne24 S. Afridi c Williamson b Boult23 I. Wasim c Boult b Henry18 S. Ahmed c Williamson b Milne2 W. Riaz not out3 U. Gul not out1

EXTRAS (W-3)3

TOTAL (for eight wkts, 20 overs)171

FALL OF WKTS: 1-33, 2-52, 3-78, 4-110, 5-146, 6-147, 7-167, 8-168.

DID NOT BAT: M. Amir.

BOWLING: Henry 4-1-32-1 (2w); Boult 4-0-42-1 (1w); Milne 4-0-37-4; Anderson 1-0-18-0; Santner 4-0-14-2; Astle 3-0-28-0.

NEW ZEALAND:

M. Guptill run out (Afridi/Imad)2 K. Williamson c Hafeez b Wahab70 C. Munro b Wahab56 C. Anderson c and b Imad0 G. Elliott b Afridi3 L. Ronchi c Shehzad b Afridi0 M. Santner c Afridi b Gul0 T. Astle b Gul1 M. Henry c Afridi b Amir10 A. Milne not out2 T. Boult c Afridi b Wahab0

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-7, W-3)11

TOTAL (all out, 20 overs)155

FALL OF WKTS: 1-9, 2-89, 3-90, 4-107, 5-107, 6-108, 7-138, 8-152, 9-152.

BOWLING: Mohammad Amir 4-0-31-1 (2w); Imad Wasim 4-0-18-1; Umar Gul 4-0-38-2; Shahid Afridi 4-1-26-2 (1w); Wahab Riaz 4-0-34-3.

RESULT: Pakistan won by 16 runs.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Shahid Afridi

SERIES: Pakistan lead three-match series 1-0.

UMPIRES: Phil Jones and Derek Walker (both New Zealand)

TV UMPIRE: Billy Bowden (New Zealand)

MATCH REFEREE: David Boon (Australia).

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2016