HAMILTON: Pakistan seek to make a comeback when they face New Zealand in the second Twenty20 International of a five-match series here at the Seddon Park on Saturday.

After losing a high-scoring series opener by 46 runs in Auckland on Friday, the Shaheen Shah Afridi-led tourists will look to improve their record in Hamilton where they are yet to claim a T20 International victory against New Zealand, having lost three so far, and in the process level the series.

Pakistan’s main concern will be their bowling which conceded a whopping 226 runs in Auckland thanks to Daryl Mitchell’s fireworks-laden 61. All the bowlers including Shaheen — except for fast bowlers Haris Rauf (2-34) and Abbas Afridi (3-34) — remained expensive.

Meanwhile Abbas, who started his T20 International career in the Auckland game, said he performed without taking any pressure.

“It was my debut game, [but] I took no pressure whatsoever and operated while utilising my bowling skills which gave me success,” the 22-year-old Abbas said in a video released by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday.

“This was my very first outing in New Zealand conditions. The coaches had gui­ded me on how to bowl while targeting the hard line with variations, and it worked.”

Taking the prized wicket of New Zealand captain and batting maestro Kane Williamson (57) was quite satisfying for right-armer Abbas.

“Though Williamson had been dropped earlier [by Babar Azam at long-on] in the innings, I had a belief that I would dismiss him. Getting his wicket was pleasing and really exciting for me,” the Fata-born player expressed.

The young pacer said that he was looking forward to maintaining the good start.

“I will use my performance in Auckland positively for the coming games on this tour,” Abbas concluded.

Batting also let the tourists down in the series opener. Though Babar made a 35-ball 57, the former Pakistan skipper was late in accelerating the run-rate as the required rate hovered around 12-13. The momentum set by a brisk 33-run start given by openers Saim Ayub (27 off eight) and Mohammad Rizwan (25 off 14) in 2.2 overs could not be maintained as a compact New Zealand attack led by veteran paceman Tim Southee (4-25) kept things under control.

New Zealand, on the other hand, are sitting pretty and will look to resume from where they left in Auckland.

A heartening sign for the Black Caps for today’s game is that they hold an impressive T20 International record at Seddon Park, having won nine out of 12 games at the venue, losing just two while one ended as a tie.

A strong looking batting line-up comprising the likes of Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Williamson, Mitchell, Glenn Phillips and Mark Chapman will again seek to fire on all cylinders to give the home side a solid 2-0 lead.

The 35-year-old Southee, who became the first bowler to claim 150 T20 Intern­ational wickets in Auckland, is expected to lead the New Zealand attack alongside fellow pacers Matt Henry and Adam Milne with spin back-up from Ish Sodhi.

Meanwhile, batter Josh Clarkson was pulled out of the New Zealand squad for the third T20 against Pakistan due to a shoulder injury.

Clarkson, uncapped at T20 International level, was originally slated to replace Williamson for the third T20 slated to be held in Dunedin on Jan 17. Will Young has replaced Clarkson in the Black Caps’ squad.

Young is a regular member of New Zealand’s ODI setup, and featured in last year’s ODI World Cup in India. He has played 14 T20 Internationals, with 260 runs at an average of 20.

Williamson will miss the third T20 to manage the knee issue that has affected him for most of the last 12 months, before returning for the final two games in Christchurch on Jan 19 and 21.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2024