Open and shut for New Zealand

Openers Williamson, Guptill hand hosts 10-wicket win with record 171-run stand to level series at 1-1

HAMILTON:

A world-record T20I partnership between openers Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson gave New Zealand a comprehensive 10-wicket win in the second T20I against Pakistan in Hamilton on Sunday.

Set a target of 169, Guptill finished the match with a boundary to take the New Zealand total to 171 with 14 balls remaining and all wickets intact.



His stand with Williamson eclipsed the previous best of 170 by South Africans Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman against England in 2009.

New Zealand’s dominance in Hamilton, after Pakistan won the first game in Auckland on Friday, means the three-match series will be decided in Wellington next Friday, with Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi lamenting the time for the big game in between. “Four days is too much,” he said.

Guptill, who uncharacteristically trailed Williamson for much of the match, finished with a flourish to be 87 from 58 balls with nine fours and four sixes. “He [Williamson] had the power today,” said Guptill.

Williamson faced 48 balls for his career-best 72 not out, which included 11 fours. Both openers scored at an identical strike-rate of exactly 150 and shared the man of the match award between themselves.



Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first but there was no urgency about their run-gathering. Halfway through their innings Pakistan were 60-2, while New Zealand passed the 60-run mark in the seventh over and were 82-0 after 10 overs.



Williamson and Guptill both brought up their half-centuries in the 13th over when they took 15 off pacer Mohammad Amir, whose three overs cost 34.

After the slow start to the Pakistan innings, Umar Akmal and Malik added a 63-run partnership off 34 balls to get the tourists up to 168-7.

Akmal was unbeaten on 56 off 27 deliveries at the close while Malik made 39 off 30.

New Zealand, with an eye on the World T20 in India in March, experimented with left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner opening the bowling. New-ball spearheads Trent Boult and Matt Henry sat out the match.

“We wanted to mix it up,” admitted Williamson. “We made the improvements from the last game; bowling effort was good considering the size of the ground.”

It was a switch which suited Pakistan opener Mohammad Hafeez but Corey Anderson and Adam Milne put the brakes on the scoring before the Akmal-Malik onslaught.

While Pakistan only scored 60 runs in the first 10 overs, they added 108 in the second half of the innings.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2016.

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