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Pakistan celebrated captain Babar Azam’s 100th shortest format international match with an 88-run clinical win in the first T20I against New Zealand in Lahore on Friday. Azam fell short with just nine runs, but Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub scored 47 runs each and partnered with 79 runs for the third wicket to pin Pakistan on 182 for 19.5 overs. Fast bowler Haris Rauf, one of five players returning from rest in Pakistan’s last series against Afghanistan, posted a career-best 4-18 as New Zealand lost 94 matches in 15.3 overs.
Left goaltender Imad Wasim finished 2-2 in his only over, taking both wickets off consecutive innings.
Mark Chapman scored the most points with 27 balls, 34, including four boundaries and six, while skipper Tom Latham scored 24 balls, 20.
Rauf’s previous best T20 record (4–22) was also achieved against New Zealand in Sharjah in 2021.
Azam praised his bowling.
“The pitch was helping the bowlers so it was a good result to hit that amount and then our bowling group was excellent,” Azam said, pleased to have hit a personal milestone.
“I never expected this. I still remember starting here as a touchline ball handler and now it’s a huge honor to be here,” Azam said of working as a ball boy during the 2007 series against South Africa.
Latham said his team has not adapted to other conditions.
“We didn’t adapt quickly enough,” said Latham, whose team is missing eight of its best players due to the Indian Premier League.
“On this coverage, the score was slightly above par. We didn’t build partnerships with the bat.”
Previously, Zaman and Ayub lifted Pakistan off a bad start after winning the toss and rebounding.
Pakistan lost both of their first players – Mohammad Rizwan on foot early for eight points and then Azam eliminated – and is just 30 points ahead of Adam Milne by fifth.
Ayoub double-bounded the pace from Milne and Ben Lister before he and Zaman scored six each from spinner Isha Sodhi in the tenth over.
Zaman hit four boundaries and two sixes in his 34-ball hit, while Ayub’s 28-ball fast serve had two sixes and six fours.
Ayub ran out during the second run before Zaman was caught in a deep square walk off Sodhi.
Fahim Ashraf scored 22 with 16 balls and Waseem scored 16 of 13 balls to help Pakistan add 47 runs in the last five overs.
New Zealand player Matt Henry scored a 3-32 hat-trick.
Henry dismissed Shadab Khan (five) and Iftikhar Ahmed (nil) from the last two deliveries of his third throw, and then Shaheen Shah Afridi from the first of his fourth.
Lister had the numbers 2-30 and Milne had 2-51.
The remaining four matches will take place in Lahore on 15 and 17 April and in Rawalpindi on 20 and 24 April.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
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