Pakistan's tour of New Zealand got off to a horrific start as they were bowled out for 91 and lost the match by nine wickets at Hagley Oval, Christchurch. In the absence of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan registered their lowest score on New Zealand soil. It is also their lowest T20I score since T20 Asia Cup 2016 when they were bowled out for 83 by India. Pakistan had three debutants who failed to make a mark as New Zealand pacers Kyle Jamieson and Jacob Duffy wreaked havoc. Skipper Salman Agha defended his team after the disappointing performance and focused on the need to sit together and plan ahead of their next game.
"It was difficult, we weren't up to the mark, but we need to regather (ahead of Dunedin). They bowled really well, in great areas, there was a bit of seam movement as well. We will sit down, have a chat and think about the next game," Salman said in the post-match presentation.
"We had three debutants, the more games they play, they'll learn more. The new ball does a bit in New Zealand, we've good bowlers and we'll look to do well in the next match," he added.
Trio's lacklustre debut
Salman had to walked out to bat early in the innings as Mohammad Haris was dismissed for a six-ball duck by Jamieson. Salman saw debutant Hasan Nawaz, Irfan Khan and experienced campaigner Shadab Khan fall at the other end. Pakistan lost four wickets for just 11 runs and had 14 runs on the board after powerplay overs.
He tried to stitch a partnership with Khushdil Shah. After a slow start, the run rate started picking up when leg-spinner Ish Sodhi got the captain's wicket. He fell after scoring 18 runs from 20 balls. He shared a 46-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Khushdil. Another debutant, Abdul Samad failed to make a mark as he fell after scoring seven runs from 12 runs. Pakistan suffered another collapse and were bowled out for 91 in 18.4 overs.
While defending a low score, debutant pacer Mohammad Ali leaked 25 runs from three overs and remained wicketless. New Zealand chased down the total with nine wickets in hand and 9.5 overs to spare.
Pakistan will have a chance to make a comeback in the series on March 18 in the second T20I of the series at University Oval, Dunedin.