PAK vs NZ 2nd T20: Strongest Playing 11 of Pakistan for the 2nd T20i versus New Zealand
PAK vs NZ 2nd T20: The Pakistan National Cricket Team, under the captaincy of Salman Ali Agha, will be aiming to bounce back in a strong manner and level the ongoing five-match T20 series as they square off versus New Zealand in the second T20I on Tuesday, 18th of March at the University Oval.
The Green Shirts suffered a difficult start to the five-match series, falling to a nine-wicket defeat in the opening encounter at Christchurch on Sunday.
The first match exposed the vulnerabilities of the Shaheens in the batting unit, as newcomers Abdul Samad and Hasan Nawaz struggled to perform well, scoring seven and zero runs respectively.
Apart from spin bowling all-round Khushdil Shah, who played a 32-run knock, the batting lineup of Pakistan showed little to no resistance. Similarly, their bowling attack didn't live up to expectations either, which might lead to several changes in the bowling department.
After being put into bat first, the visitors crumbled undrer pressure created by New Zealand's pace bowling duo of Kyle Jamison (3 wickets) and Jacob Duffy (4 wickets) as the former reduced them to 1-3 within the first 2.2 overs of the opening match.
The situation became even more worse as Shadab Khan, the vice-captain, got dismissed after scoring just three runs, leaving his side struggling at 11-4 in 5 overs. It was looking highly likely that the 2022 T20 World Cup runners-up were heading to their lowest ever score in the fomat but then, Khushdil Shah and Captain Salman Agha began to retaliate.
They got involved in a partnership of 46 runs for the fifth wicket but that partnership didn't last long as the Pakistani captain perished in the 12th over, while Khushdil got out in the very next over. Salman managed to score 18 runs in 20 balls while the Southpaw, on the other hand, was the top scorer for the visiting team with his knock of 32 runs in 30 deliveries, with the help of three sixes.
The collapse of the Salman Ali Agha-led outfit didn't stop and eventually, they got all out for an embarrassing score of 91 runs in 18.4 overs with eight ball to spare.
Michael Bracewell's New Zealand, responded by easily chasing down the 92-run mark, accomplishing it with 59 balls remaining and lost only one wicket.
The Pakistani team management will have to make some serious changes if they want their team to have any chances of making a comeback in the series.
Strongest playing 11 of Pakistan for the second T20 International versus New Zealand
Mohammad Haris (WK), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Abdul Samad, Omai Bin Yousuf, Shadab Khan, Agha Salman (Captain), Abbas Afridi, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Shaheen Afridi and Abrar Ahmed.
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