New Zealand dominates rain-hit T20I to go 2-0 up against Pakistan

New Zealand’s openers launched a six-hitting assault on Tuesday, beating Pakistan by five wickets to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

In the rain-reduced match, the hosts reached 137-5 with 11 balls remaining in Dunedin, firmly gaining the upper hand in the series after Pakistan managed 135-9 in 15 overs.

New Zealand started the chase with a brutal opening partnership between Tim Seifert and Finn Allen, who hit sixes with seven of their first eight scoring shots.

Surprisingly, Seifert began with a maiden over from Shaheen Shah Afridi, but Allen responded by clearing the short University Oval boundary three times in the next over bowled by Mohammad Ali.

Seifert then hammered 26 runs—including four sixes—in Afridi’s following over.

"I thought after that first over could be a tricky wicket, but yeah, it's a great win. And batting with Finn, the partnership, and working off each other. I thought we batted well. To be honest, there are not too many conversations. It's just obviously we've played a lot of cricket. it's just going out there and backing our skills and putting pressure on the bowlers when we can,” said Seifert, who was named player of the match.

Seifert, who had top-scored with 44 in Sunday’s nine-wicket win in Christchurch, was dismissed for 45 off just 22 deliveries.

Allen followed shortly after, making 38 from 16 balls, with both openers hitting five sixes each.

Allen has smashed 31 sixes in 125 T20 balls at University Oval, with 21 of those coming against Pakistan in just 78 deliveries.

New Zealand lost four wickets in a quick burst during the middle phase of the chase, but despite some stumbles, Mitchell Hay (21) and Michael Bracewell (5) saw them through comfortably in the 14th over.

"The bowling was extraordinary, first of all. The guys bowling into the wind today bowled particularly well and kept them to a score which we're pretty happy with. That's definitely an assessment during the game. That probably goes away from the instincts of the death bowlers a little bit, not using the yorkers and things like that. But the wicket's been undercover for a day or so, and it's offering a little bit of extra bounce, we have to make sure that we use it, so we just try to use the wicket today and I thought the death bowlers bowled really well today,” Kiwi skipper Bracewell said after the match.

Pakistan’s bowlers struggled, with only Haris Rauf and Khushdil Shah making an impact—Rauf claimed two wickets, while Khushdil took one.

Though Jahandad Khan and Mohammad Ali picked up a wicket apiece, they conceded heavily, with economy rates of 19.71 and 17.00 respectively.

“We bowled well after the powerplay and Haris had a good spell. But as a bowling and batting unit, we must improve in the powerplay,” said captain Salman Agha after the match.

Skipper Salman to the rescue

Earlier, Salman Agha led Pakistan’s effort with 46 off 28 balls, helping rebuild after the early loss of Hasan Nawaz, who was dismissed for a duck for the second straight game.

Mohammad Haris also fell cheaply for 11, leaving the middle order to repair the innings.

At 19-2 in the fourth over, Salman responded with an aggressive knock that included four boundaries and three sixes.

Shadab Khan contributed a quickfire 26 from 14 balls, and Afridi remained unbeaten on 22 off 14 to take Pakistan to 135-9.

Salman commented, “It was freezing out there. Compared to the previous game, we performed better with the bat and our fielding was excellent. Our bowling had good moments, but we need to adjust to the bounce here.”

Afridi’s late cameo helped Pakistan post a competitive total, while four New Zealand bowlers—including Ben Sears and Jimmy Neesham, who returned to the side—took two wickets each.

Sears and Neesham replaced Tim Robinson and Kyle Jamieson for this game.

New Zealand now has a chance to clinch the series in the third match, set to be played in Auckland on Friday.