Pakistani batsman Mohammad Rizwan couldn’t do much during the second NZ vs PK T20I match and was dismissed for 7 runs. Despite his poor performance, Rizwan became Pakistan’s leading six-hitter in T20Is. Rizwan achieved the milestone thanks to the only six he hit in his 5-ball stay during Pakistan’s second innings in Hamilton.
Mohammad Rizwan overtook Mohammad Hafeez to become Pakistan’s leading six-hitter. Rizwan has now hit 77 sixes for the ‘Men in Green’ in the 87 T20I matches he has played. Hafeez was Pakistan’s leading six-hitter in T20Is ahead of Rizwan and hit 75 sixes.
Mohammad Rizwan was also named vice-captain of Pakistan in the T20I format ahead of the series against New Zealand. Rizwan has scored a total of 2829 runs in 75 T20I innings with one hundred and 25 half-centuries.
Mohammad Rizwan becomes leading six-hitter in T20Is for Pakistan
🚨 RECORD ALERT @iMRizwanPak is now the leading six-hitter for 🇵🇰 in T20Is 💪#NZvPAK | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/9e71hOuqTj
– Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) January 14, 2024
It was another defeat for Pakistan in the NZ vs PAK T20I series and they lost the second match of the series by 21 runs. The Pakistani team showed failure in bowling and batting which became the main reason for their defeat in Hamilton. No other batsman apart from Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman could score more than 10 runs and they came out cheaply in single figures.
New Zealand got off to a decent start with their openers as they batted first and added 59 runs for the first wicket. Devon Conway was dismissed for 20 runs, while Finn Allen continued his attack from the other end and scored 74 runs off 41 balls. Allen hit 7 fours and 5 sixes during his stay at the crease.
Apart from Finn Allen, captain Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips made some necessary cameos of 10-20 runs and helped the team reach a score of 194/8 in the first innings. Haris Rauf picked up three wickets from four overs, while Abbas Afridi picked up 2 wickets. Aamer Jamal and Usama Mir finished the innings with 1 wicket each.
Chasing the target, Pakistan got off to a poor start as Saim Ayub was dismissed for 1 run while Mohammad Rizwan scored 7 runs. Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman added 87 runs for the third wicket and tried to put the team’s innings on track. Babar scored 66 runs, while Zaman was dismissed for 50 runs.
No batsman apart from Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman could stay in the crease for long and no batsman could cross the 10-run mark. Shaheen Shah Afridi was unbeaten on 22 runs and Pakistan were locked on 173 runs.
It was another reality check for Pakistan in international cricket as their woes continue. The Pakistan team had a forgettable campaign in the 2023 ODI World Cup and was eliminated from the round-robin stage of the tournament. Pakistan also failed to beat low-ranked teams like Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2023 and before the series, they also lost a T20I series against Afghanistan.
With the T20 World Cup approaching, Pakistan would like to focus on their problems and perform well in the upcoming tournament.
