Pakistan ended their powerplay at 14 for 4 in the opening T20I match against New Zealand
Pakistan’s hope to put behind a horrendous Champions Trophy campaign, where they suffered a group-stage exit in the home tournament, started on a disappointing note. In the opening game of the T20I series against New Zealand on Sunday at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch, fast bowler Kyle Jamieson left the Pakistan batting line-up in a shambles after picking three wickets in the powerplay.
Kyle Jamieson picked three wickets in the powerplay against Pakistan
Put to bat first, Pakistan, who were without seasoned campaigners Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, Jamieson drew first blood with the new ball, dismissing opener Mohammad Haris on the final ball of the first over. It was wicket-maiden for the right-arm pacer.
After Jacob Duffy took care of another opener, Hasan Nawaz, in the following over, Jamieson returned to dismiss Irfan Khan for just one run off six balls, leaving Pakistan at 3 for three in the third over. In his final over with the new ball, Jamieson got rid of Shadab Khan, courtesy of a Glenn Phillips-like catch from Tim Robinson behind square. Pakistan, hence, ended their powerplay at 14 for 4.
Why did Pakistan drop Babar, Rizwan?
Both Babar and Rizwan faced the axe after a disappointing Champions Trophy campaign as selectors dropped the two senior batters for the T20I series against New Zealand.
Explaining the reason behind the move, Pakistan’s interim head coach and national selector Aaqib Javed said that the call was taken to try out a new approach and develop a new mindset among the players for modern-day T20 cricket.
“If you look at other teams, most of them have 70 per cent separate T20 squads, and we are also working on that before the Asia Cup and World T20 Cup. We need our players to play fearless cricket,” he had told the media in Lahore.
However, both batters were retained for the ODI series against the Black Caps, who finished as runners-up in the Champions Trophy. The 50-over contest will begin on March 29, following the end of the five-match T20I series.
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