NZ T20I Tri-series: Asif Ali survives an injury scare while fielding in the final vs New Zealand

Pakistan suffered a major injury scare ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022 as their renowned finisher Asif Ali hurt himself badly while fielding in the final against New Zealand. Devon Conway middled one in the covers region quite nicely and Ali chased down the ball eventually ending up in a bit of strangle and had to limp off the field after the incident.  

Ali did not move from the ground until the physio came and his knee was the concern here as it got stuck in the pitch while chasing down. The 31-year-old looked in serious pain while leaving the field and the fans would be hoping he recovers in time with just ten days remaining before the T20 World Cup 2022 campaign starts for Pakistan against their-arch rivals India.  However, he came out later only to get out scoring just a solitary run.

Ali has faced the heat in recent times for not being able to produce consistent impact in the middle order and this has just added to the woes for Pakistan. The men in green are still pondering over Shaheen Afridi’s comeback as the left-arm seamer has missed international action for the last two months and is set to return for the T20 World Cup 2022.  

Kane Williamson returns to form with a stunning half-century 

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson played a timely knock and returned to form with a blistering half-century in the final against Pakistan. Williamson had a string of low scores and his strike rate was a big question mark in recent times. However, his 38-ball 59 comprising of four fours and two sixes shut the critics on him and laid the impetus for a good total to be posted.  

Contributions from Glenn Phillips and Mark Chapman has taken the Kiwis to a formidable total of 163 for 7 in their 20 overs. With the start New Zealand had, they would have hoped for more which wasn’t the case as Pakistan bowlers came back strong in the final few overs. Haris Rauf was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 22 in his four overs. The Men in Green ended up chasing the total eventually in the final over courtesy of some brilliant batting from Mohammad Nawaz and Haider Ali.