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New Zealand started the five-T20I series with a dominating nine-wicket win over Pakistan. New Zealand pacers rushed through Pakistan batting lineup and bowled them out for 91, their lowest T20I total on New Zealand soil. After the game, stand-in captain Michael Bracewell revealed that the hosts would have bundled out Pakistan even earlier but he held back Kyle Jamieson who was menacing with the new ball taking a wicket each in powerplay overs.
"Was a great day in front of a great crowd. We have played against them domestically (on the pacers), to have them in the same team, it was super difficult for them (Pakistan) and they couldn't recover. Had to hold Kyle back for the 4th over, he was ready and at the top of his mark, it was difficult to keep them off the attack, maybe we could have restricted them to a lesser score (had I bowled out them out earlier), but it's always a challenge to rotate the bowlers around, especially in shorter formats like the T20s," Bracewell said in the post-match presentation.
Jamieson bowled a wicket-maiden as Mohammad Haris looked clueless. In his second over, he got Irfan Pathan's wicket with the help of extra bounce he generated from the pitch of Hagley Oval, Christchurch. In his third over, he bowled a short ball to Shadab Khan. Tim Robinson at backward point jumped in the air and plucked one out of thin air. Pakistan were 11/4 in the fifth over.
Bracewell introduced himself into the attack alongside Zak Foulkes and Ish Sodhi. Bracewell who was exceptional in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final in Dubai, was hit for two consecutive sixes by Khushdil Shah in the 11th over. Jamieson was brought back into the attack in the 17th over. Jahandad Khan and Shaheen Afridi were clueless against him. Jamieson conceded eight runs from his quota of four overs. He was adjudged 'Player of the match'.
Jamieson happy to be bowling at home
"It was nice to be back on home soil, favourable conditions, myself and Duff, we'll take these conditions and it was nice to cash in. I guess we plan for some carnage (in T20Is), for some balls to go out of the ground, nice to get these conditions, needed to keep the seam upright, it made our job easy and was a clinical team performance. We have got a good crop of players, great depth and players who can exploit the conditions, it was a nice team win. He did an outstanding job (on Jacob Duffy), at the top and the back-end as well, Zak (Foulkes) as well, was just a great all-around performance from the bowlers," Jamieson said.
Jamieson is available for the first three T20Is of the series. The next T20I will be played at University Oval, Dunedin on March 18.
