New Zealand vs Pakistan, 1st T20I Stats Review: New Zealand’s highest total against Pakistan, Tim Southee’s stellar record against the Asian giants, and other stats

Skipper Kane Williamson and the in-form Daryl Mitchell smashed their respective half-centuries as New Zealand posted their highest-ever total of 226/8 against Pakistan in T20 internationals. Courtesy of that, the Kiwis defeated the Pakistanis by a margin of 46 runs in the first of the five-match series at Eden Park in Auckland. Veteran seamer Tim Southee continued his good form against Pakistan in this format as he delivered a spell of 4/25 (4).

Speaking about how the opening fixture panned out, new skipper Shaheen Afridi won the toss and elected to field first. Destructive opener Finn Allen came out all guns blazing as he hammered 34 off just 15 which included three fours and as many maximums. His opening partner Devon Conway bagged a golden duck but the innings was all about Williamson and Mitchell.

Captain Williamson struck 57 off 42 while Mitchell hit a quickfire 61 off just 27 with the help of four fours and four sixes. Explosive left-hander Mark Chapman provided the finishing touch with his cameo of 26 off 11. It also turned out to be the highest total by any team against the Men in Green in this format.

Debutant pacer Abbas Afridi was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers for his spell of 3/34 (4). Chasing a mammoth target of 227, openers Saim Ayub and Mohammad Rizwan struck 27 and 25 runs respectively. Fakhar Zaman made 15 while Iftikhar Ahmed was dismissed for 24 as the visitors kept losing wickets. Former skipper Babar Azam fought hard as he racked up 57 off 35 but it wasn’t enough as his side got bundled out for 180 in 18 overs. Adam Milne and Ben Sears also snared two scalps each as the Kiwis took a 1-0 lead in the series. For his blazing knock, Mitchell won the Player of the Match award.

Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers from the 1^st T20I between New Zealand and Pakistan:

6 – Kane Williamson has now smashed the most 50-plus scores (six) against Pakistan in T20Is. He surpassed Virat Kohli’s tally of five such scores.

151 – Tim Southee reached the milestone of 150 wickets in T20 internationals. He became the first bowler to achieve the feat.

226/8 – New Zealand registered their highest total of 226/8 against Pakistan in T20 internationals. Their previous best of 196/5 came in Wellington in the year 2016.

1 – The BlackCaps also recorded the highest-ever total of 226/8 by a team against the Men in Green in the shortest international format. Previously, England posted a total of 221/3 in Karachi in the year 2022.

6 – Babar Azam is now tied with Rohit Sharma at the top for slamming the most 50-plus scores (six) against New Zealand.

16.65 – Veteran seam bowler Southee has picked up 32 wickets in 19 innings at a solid average of 16.65 against Pakistan in this format. It also includes two four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul.

3 – Ish Sodhi dismissed Fakhar Zaman for the third time in T20Is which is the joint-most with Moeen Ali and Beuran Hendricks.

337.50 – Saim Ayub registered the third-highest strike rate of 337.50 for Pakistan in a T20I innings with a minimum of 25 runs scored. Shahid Afridi and Asif Ali had a strike rate of 357.14 against South Africa in 2010 and against Afghanistan in 2021 respectively.