New Zealand hosted Pakistan in the first game of the three-match T20I series at the Eden Park in Auckland on Friday (December 18).

Opting to bat first, the visitors posted 153/9 in 20 overs on the back of stand-in skipper Shadab Khan’s 32-ball 42 and Faheem Ashraf’s cameo (31 off 18 balls).

For the Kiwis, Jacob Duffy (4-33) and Scott Kuggeleijn (3-27) were the stand-out bowlers, claiming 7 wickets between them.

In reply, the Kiwis overhauled the target with five wickets in hand and seven balls to spare. Opening the innings, Tim Seifert played a brilliant knock of 43-ball 57 to lead the foundation while Mark Chapman (34 off 20 balls), Glenn Phillips (23), Jimmy Neesham (15*) and Mitchell Santner (12*) chipped in with valuable contributions during the chase.

Haris Rauf (3-29) and Shaheen Afridi (2-27) bowled well for Pakistan but other bowlers proved to be expensive while defending the modest total.

Brief Scores:

Pakistan – 153/9 in 20 overs (Shadab Khan 42; Jacob Duffy 4-33) lost to New Zealand – 156/5 in 18.5 overs (Tim Seifert 57; Haris Rauf 3-29) by 5 wickets.