New Zealand vs Pakistan: Shaheen Afridi feels frustrated after missed chances.
New Zealand vs Pakistan 1st Test: Young pacer who put up a brilliant show on the first day of the Boxing Day Test against New Zealand must be saddened after plenty of mischances.
Shaheen Afridi after the end of the play of Day1 feels frustrated due to the number of missed chances in the field as well as by the straightforward LBW.
The stand-in skipper Mohammad Rizwan opened up well winning the toss and opting to field first. The speedster Shaheen Afridi started his spell with two wickets in quick succession. Afridi removed Tom Latham and Tom Bundell cheaply sending New Zealand into backfoot.
However, Pakistan could not manage to pick one more wicket the whole day. Afridi made few chances where wickets would fall but Pakistani fielders dropped chcnces.
“We did try to get wickets early on with new balls and took two wickets but if you don’t take catches it will be difficult,” Afridi said.
A brilliant parternership of 120 runs came to end after Shaheen Afridi removed Ros Taylor who became the most capped player across format for New Zealand.
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson and Henry Nicolls ensured a another good parternership of unbeaten 89 runs to end the play of Day 1.
Dropped Chances :
Before the end of the Day, Williamson and Nicholls both were given lives. Williamson was dropped twice in the slips by Shan Masood and Haris Sohail – off Naseem Shah and Afridi respectively, while Henry Nicholls was also given a chance.
To put salt in the wounds, Pakistani skipper Mohammad Rizwan did not take a simple LBW review to get rid of New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson off Shaheen Afridi. A well-directed yorker hit the pads of Williamson which would eventually hit the off stumps.
“They batted hard but I am 100% frustrated by the dropped catches. It’s disappointing when you drop catches, and we didn’t take the review (on Williamson),” Afridi said.
“It’s a part of the game but if you need to win matches you have to take catches and have to improve the fielding. They know how to play in their conditions so it is tough, but the ball is still new and tomorrow we will come hard to take wickets as early as possible.”
As the Day 1 of the first test ended, New Zealand closes on 222 for 3 wickets, and Kane Williamson who is six runs short of his 23rd Test Ton while Henry Nicholls as his partner.
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