Asif Ali and Shoaib Malik power Pakistan to victory after Haris Rauf bowling masterclass

Haris Rauf bowled career-best T20I figures of 4 for 22 to help restrict New Zealand to 134 for 8 before Asif Ali and Shoaib Malik scored 48 runs off the final 23 balls to see Pakistan over the line with eight balls to spare

Sharjah: New Zealand 134-8, Pakistan 135-5 - Pakistan won by five wickets

Scorecard

Pakistan have defeated New Zealand by five wickets to maintain their 100 per cent winning start to the 2021 T20 World Cup.

Haris Rauf bowled career-best T20I figures of 4 for 22 to help restrict New Zealand to134 for 8 and set up what looked to be a routine chase for Pakistan.

However, after labouring through the opening 15 overs, they required a big-hitting masterclass from Asif Ali and veteran Shoaib Malik to get over the line with eight balls to spare. The pair scored 48 runs off just 23 balls in an unbeaten sixth-wicket stand.

New Zealand, boasting the unusual opening partnership of Martin Guptill and Daryl Mitchell, struggled through the opening four overs before smashing 15 runs off Hasan Ali to finally get the scoreboard moving in the fifth.

However, their joy would be short-lived, with Guptill departing for 17 off 20 balls in the sixth after being bowled by Haris Rauf.

^{Asif Ali (left) scored 27 off 12 balls while Haris Rauf (right) took 4 for 22}

Three overs later, Pakistan picked up two wickets in the space of five balls – Fakhar Zaman taking two catches in quick succession to dismiss Mitchell (bowled Imad Wasim) and Jimmy Neesham (bowled Mohammad Hafeez) – to reduce New Zealand to 60 for 3 at the halfway mark.

Skipper Kane Williamson and Devon Conway found some joy with the bat in the next three overs, scoring 30 runs off 18 balls, but when the former was brilliantly runout by Hasan Ali for 25 at the start of the 14th over, it spelled the beginning of the end for the Black Caps who posted 44 for 5 off the final seven overs.

Rauf picked up two in three balls in the 17th over, removing Conway (caught Babar Azam) and Glenn Phillips (caught Hasan Ali), before Shaheen Shah Afridi picked up his first of the day in the penultimate over, Hafeez catching Tim Seifert’s miscued shot at backward point.

And Rauf collected his fourth off the final ball of the innings, cleaning up Mitchell Santner with a slower delivery to finish with figures of 4 for 22. New Zealand closed on 134 for 8.

Sublime catch by Devon Conway!#T20WorldCuppic.twitter.com/mkq9F3d2Kl

— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) October 26, 2021

In reply, Pakistan also struggled for runs in the powerplay before losing skipper Azam in the sixth over, bowled by Tim Southee for nine – a fine wicket for the New Zealander’s 100th in T20Is.

Fakhar Zaman was removed for 11 three overs later, pinned lbw by Ish Sodhi, and at the 10-over mark, Pakistan were 58 for 2 – two runs behind their opponents at the same stage.

Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse over the next five overs, with Pakistan losing three wickets for just 29 runs. Hafeez and Mohammad Rizwan fell in the quick succession, the former to a superb flying catch in the deep by Conway (bowled Santner), before Boult trapped Wasim lbw to leave Pakistan 47 runs short with a little over five overs remaining.

However, Asif Ali came out swinging, crunching his first delivery for four, before dispatching Southee for back-to-back sixes in the 17th to restore the equation to 24 off 18 balls.

And from there it was a mere formality, with Asif Ali and Malik smacking the required runs off just 10 deliveries to seal a five-wicket win.