Fast-bowler Tim Southee bagged a five-wicket haul including a hat-trick as New Zealand beat Pakistan by five wickets in their opening Twenty20 match.
It was only the third hat-trick in the history of Twenty20 internationals as a Southee spell put the brakes on a brisk Pakistan start.
Their 143 for nine was knocked off by New Zealand with 17 balls to spare and five wickets in hand, giving the Black Caps a much-needed victory.
“After the way we’ve played in the last three-four months it’s a great start to the Pakistan series,” said stand-in captain Ross Taylor.
It was also a morale-boosting performance for new coach John Wright who was immediately confronted with the news that his most senior players Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum were out injured.
New Zealand’s poor run appeared to be continuing when Pakistan raced to 62 for two in a rollicking first seven overs before Southee turned the game around and took five wickets for no runs. It began with the last ball of his opening over when he had Ahmed Shehzad caught by wicket-keeper Peter McGlashan for 14.
With the second ball of his next over he dismissed Younus Khan with a widish delivery that was top edged to debutant Dean Brownlie in the deep.
As the ball was skied, opener Mohammad Hafeez was left to regret racing to the other end as his innings of 24 off 19 deliveries ended on the next ball which he nicked to McGlashan.
Umar Akmal was unfortunate to complete the hat-trick when he was given out leg before.
Southee rounded off his wicket-taking exploits with the second ball of his third over which Abdul Razzaq (one) steered to McGlashan and the fast-bowler ended his four-over spell with figures of five for 18.
Kyle Mills, who finished with three for 37, continued to keep the pressure on Pakistan who were given a boost by their tail-end pair Wahab Riaz and Shoaib Akhtar. But 143 was never going to be enough and New Zealand openers Jesse Ryder and Martin Guptill took control from the start. They had 27 runs on the board inside two overs before Ryder (six) departed as the first of Akhtar’s three wickets.
Brownlie (five) and Scott Styris (seven) also fell to the fast bowler but New Zealand always had the run rate under control.
Guptill blasted 54 from 29 balls, including four sixes and four fours, before he was run out while Taylor was 39 not out from 31 balls at the end.
New Zealand lead the three-match series 1-0 with the second match in Hamilton on Tuesday.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 27th, 2010.
COMMENTS (6)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ