Mitchell Santner earned his first win as New Zealand’s T20I captain in the first T20I against Pakistan on Friday, December 18, 2020. New Zealand chased down the paltry target of 154 with 5 wickets in hand and 7 balls to spare in Auckland to go 1-0 up in the series.
Pakistan batted first after winning the toss, but only captain Shadab Khan (42) and Faheem Ashraf (31) managed to negotiate with Kiwi bowlers, as they crumbled to 79/6 before finally making 153/9 in 20 overs.
Debutant Jacob Duffy picked 4/33 and Scott Kuggeleijn picked 3/27.
Mitchell Santner was happy to lead New Zealand to the win and after the match said, "The energy in the field was outstanding. Probably a change in the team going into the next game, but we'll take this confidence.”
Santner also mentioned that New Zealand’s planning for the 2021 T20 World Cup in India had started with this series against Pakistan. He also hinted at the return of Kane Williamson in the side for the next T20I.
"We are looking at the World Cup in India next year. And we'll have around four changes in our next game with the Test stars coming back in," he added.
In reply, Tim Seifert’s 57, Glenn Phillips’ 23, and Mark Chapman’s 34 were enough for New Zealand to romp home with 5 wickets in hand. Shaheen Afridi picked 2/27 and Haris Rauf got 3/29 for Pakistan.
(ANI inputs)
