Pakistan were ordinary in the first T20I against New Zealand. The visiting team was bowled out for 91, and the Kiwis reached the target in 10.1 overs with 9 wickets in hand. Batting first, Pakistan failed to handle Jacob Duffy, who took four wickets. He got rid of Hasan Nawaz (0), Khushdil Shah (32), Shaheen Shah Afridi (1) and Abrar Ahmed (2). Duffy was supported by Kyle Jamieson, who recently returned to the national team.
Jamieson claimed three scalps in the form of Mohammad Haris (0), Irfan Khan (1) and Shadab Khan (3). Ish Sodhi (2 wickets) and Zakary Foulkes (1 wicket) also bowled well for the hosts.
Chasing 92, Tim Seifert batted aggressively to put Pakistan on the back foot. He accumulated 44 runs off 29 balls, laced with 7 fours and 1 six. Finn Allen (29) and Tim Robinson (18) remained unbeaten.
Pakistan dropped Babar Azam and captain Mohammad Rizwan from the T20I team, with Salman Ali Agha getting the captain’s armband. Pakistan will have a chance to return to winning ways in the remaining four matches.