Pakistan beat New Zealand by two runs in Twenty20 thriller
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Pakistan beat New Zealand by two runs in the first Twenty20 international in a last over thriller in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
New Zealand needed a six off the last ball to tie the match but managed a boundary to finish at 146-6 in 20 overs.
Pakistan's best bowler was Hasan Ali who finished with 3-35.
Pakistan made 148-6 with Mohammad Hafeez (45), Sarfraz Ahmed (34) and Asif Ali (24) main run getters after they won the toss and batted.
Adam Milne was the best New Zealand bowler with 2-28.
The remaining two matches will be played in Dubai on Friday and Sunday.
Teams
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Colin de Grandhomme, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor
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On DawnNews
Comments (41) Closed
Nov 01, 2018 12:19am
Congrats Pakistan!
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Nov 01, 2018 12:27am
Batting is a major concern, very consistent underperforming and can do much better
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Nov 01, 2018 12:28am
Pakistan has done it again. Congrats team green. Keep the green flag high.
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Nov 01, 2018 12:31am
Well done.
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Nov 01, 2018 12:34am
Nail biting win
Pakistan defending a modest total (148) yet again but only just. However they did well to get up to 148 after losing wickets in a heap
This NZ side is better than Australia
Must look to score 160-180 in the remaining two games if we bat first
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Nov 01, 2018 12:35am
Good to see Pakistan winning the t20 matches. Do Pakistan maintain the same when they chase. Correct me if I am wrong there are only handful wins when they chase.
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Nov 01, 2018 12:45am
What a great and entertaining match. Congrats to my Green Shaheens!
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Nov 01, 2018 12:47am
After seeing how Aussies and Kiwis were struggling against Pakistani bowling, one understands the value of Rohit's and Dhawan's knocks against the same bowling attack. These overseas players play with stiff hands. Doesn't work that way on turning, slow pitches. Anyway congrats.
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Nov 01, 2018 12:56am
It was a good match. Well played Pakistan!
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Nov 01, 2018 01:10am
Well done Green Shirts. Congratulations. Although it’s a very close finish the good thing is Pakistani bowlers were didn’t allow NZ batsmen to take any liberties. Talking about Kiwis, this is their first match in UAE , looking from that perspective they performed very well.
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Nov 01, 2018 01:21am
Congratulations to Sarfaraz and his men in Green Shirts.
It was a real thriller and NZ tried their level best to upset Pakistan.
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Nov 01, 2018 01:21am
Great team spirit - go green machine
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Nov 01, 2018 01:43am
Pakistan makes the impossible possible. The worst low scoring batting team winning most of its T20 games. All this is possible due to its bowling and fielding.
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Nov 01, 2018 01:50am
Batting is still struggling, how long can bowlers win the games. Batsmen have to score over 175 constantly. New Zealand will come back strong in the next two games. This was even and there is no difference between the two teams. Just one team had to lose and New Zealand just came on the losing end.
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Nov 01, 2018 01:55am
There is a need of Fakhar at top and Umar Akmal in lower middle order. Keep Malik at 4.
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Nov 01, 2018 02:05am
Maybe Mohsin Khan should resign from PCB. His suggestion to kick out Sarfaraz after he beat Australia in test matches, reflects his desire to please a lobby in PCB and media
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Nov 01, 2018 02:16am
SahabZada Farhan is a waste of time
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Nov 01, 2018 02:54am
Great game, Congratulation Team Green. Hope to see similar competition in next games.
Surprised to see Sarfraz didn't use Hafeez's full quota when he was bowling excellent.
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Nov 01, 2018 04:01am
Great win team green!
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Nov 01, 2018 05:25am
Well done Pakistan and the bowlers specifically. NZ are a real threat they well played very well and the fielding was superb. They have Munro, who can win matches, and Pak have to be very careful in remaining matches. Batting is an issue. Farhan, is not up to it. Probably need to revert back to Faqar. Moving Asif to make sense if he can strike the ball. Perhaps Asif to open if he likes pace might be the better option and strengthen batting. Sarfraz atleast forced to bat and did well. Let’s see, need to do something with the batting.
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Nov 01, 2018 05:50am
Go Pakistan!
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Nov 01, 2018 06:42am
Hafez in some effort deliveries looked like he was chucking.
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Nov 01, 2018 07:10am
nice Match, it was exciting to watch every ball.
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Nov 01, 2018 07:31am
A superb performance but we were short of just 12 runs.Should endeavor to score 160 in the next match.Congratulations Pakistani team.
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Nov 01, 2018 07:34am
Very good going. Keep it up!
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Nov 01, 2018 07:51am
Unfortunately I could not see the entire game but from my read and seeing some sport analyst programs the game was a thriller. Well played Pakistan!!! Great job bowlers in winning the match. I think hafeez is doing an excellent job with the batting and bowling. As I have said before we need to change our bowling strategy maybe start with Hafeez instead of Emad. Currently, Pakistan bowling is too predicable and batsman are beginning to understand Emad and find him easy to play thus he gets hit all over the place. As far as our batting I think we need to score at least 170 runs, New Zealand is a very strong team and has the capacity to score north of 180 runs if batting first. I think the man of the match should have been given to Hasan Ali, he is really good bowler and has the potential of being a very effective and reliable medium pace bowler. I am looking forward to the match on Friday!
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Nov 01, 2018 08:03am
What a thrilling match to watch! Well done Pakistan.This is what cricket is all about. A good and close contest that keeps you on the edge of the seat until it is finished.
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Nov 01, 2018 08:47am
No matter how hard the other team plays this team knows how to come out on top.
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Nov 01, 2018 09:31am
Hafeez bowling was the difference
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Nov 01, 2018 10:21am
Pakistan will win here most of the games on dead slow pitches, but when they will tour outside UAE they will struggle big time on good pitches.
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Nov 01, 2018 11:12am
@Operation Rajiv 87 and his batting, Hafeez or Shoaib should be the Captain, hard to stomach Sarfraz.
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Nov 01, 2018 11:23am
Good result for green shirts
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Nov 01, 2018 12:20pm
@Operation Rajiv 87 no it was Shaheen Afridis last over.
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Nov 01, 2018 12:51pm
Even though it was a close finish, Pakistan put up a really strong performance to clinch this match to take a 1-0 lead. Keeping the Kiwis' sloggers in check and maintaining a strong presence in the field to finally snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, is by no means a small achievement.
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Nov 01, 2018 04:35pm
@wsyed, get a life. Both Hafeez and Shoaib have been captains and have produced disastrous results. So what makes you think they’re going to do better this time?unless you’re an Indian bot or a member of the Akmal family, your comments don’t make any sense. All the Pakistan supporters would like to challenge you folk an open debate and see how good your opinions are. Please take the challenge or hold your thoughts to yourself.
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Nov 01, 2018 06:37pm
Well done green-shirts. Stay focused, keep your feet on the ground and refrain from being complacent in the upcoming matches. With unity, faith and discipline, you can turn the tables on all your opponents.
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Nov 01, 2018 11:56pm
NZ should watch some Indo-Pak Asia cup highlights to understand how to play Pakistani bowlers.
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Nov 02, 2018 12:38am
A win is a win, no matter what the margin is. Pakistan, though they may have won by the narrowest of margins, did manage to contain the Kiwis' sloggers and make the effort to go the distance instead of wilting under pressure. Now, moving forward, they will be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents and try to work both Plan A and Plan B in order to maintain consistency in this format.
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Nov 02, 2018 12:42am
@Sagar, Incorrest assessment as it doesn't take into account the absence of Imad Wasim, a key member of the Pakistani bowling outfit in the current dual series. So, the Indians haven't faced such siturations in the Asia Cup matches and, therefore, a comment like that is not justified here.
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Nov 02, 2018 12:48am
@Khany, How does a par total of around 150 become a "low score", especially in T20 game?
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Nov 02, 2018 08:20am
@Pak_UK, I might agree there is a need of a consistent middle order batsman but certainly not Umar Akmal. Akmals are all drama which Pakistan does not need anymore. We can use Shoaib Akhtar but somebody needs to support and stay with him.
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