Pakistan skipper Shaheen Afridi was left finding for words at the post-match presentation after facing yet another defeat at the hands of the Kiwis in the 2nd NZ vs PAK T20I. Afridi and co. lost the 2nd T20I at Hamilton by 21 runs after the Adam Milne-led bowling attack wreaked havoc on the visitors’ line up.
NZ vs PAK: Pakistan skipper laments over bad start
Speaking at the press conference, skipper Afridi admitted that the side unfortunately did not get off to the start they aimed at. He further claimed that NZ could have been restricted to 170 runs if the team had managed to get a couple of wickets early with the help of swing.
“Bowling first you can look for swing and look for wickets early. Unfortunately, we missed out on that today. If we would have taken 1 or 2 wickets then their score would have been 170 – 180. We didn’t start the way we want.” Shaheen Afridi said.
Further, the Pakistan skipper credited his bowlers for their spell in the last 10 overs. Afridi applauded Haris Rauf and Mohammad Nawaz for pulling it back for the side, while dropping a special mention for Usama Mir.
NZ vs PAK 2nd T20I
Adam Milne was the star of the night with the ball for the hosts, as he grabbed four scalps to wreak havoc through the Pakistan batting order. Having lost both openers – Mohammad Rizwan and Saim Ayub – cheaply, Pakistan were off to poor start. Ish Sodhi, Adam Milne, Tim Southee and Ben Sears wreaked havoc on the middle-order batters.
Finn Allen starred with the bat for the hosts, smashing 74 off 41 deliveries. The Kiwis were dealt with a blow as skipper Kane Williamson retired hurt halfway through the game owing to a tight hamstring in his right leg. A valueable 13-ball 25 run knock powered New Zealand to 194 runs in 20 overs.