Picture Credit: X
On Sunday, March 16, the Pakistan cricket team suffered a humiliating defeat by nine wickets in the first T20I of the five-match series against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. After getting bundled out for mere 91 runs in 18.4 overs, Pakistan weren’t able to hold off the New Zealand batting lineup for any length of time, conceding the runs in 10.1 overs, to find themselves 0-1 down in the series, which led to a plethora of criticism for them on social media platform X.
For the unversed, New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell won the toss and decided to bowl first, and their opening bowling pair of Kyle Jamieson and Jacob Duffy ripped apart the Pakistan top order, reducing them to 3/1 in 2.2 overs before taking the fourth wicket in the power play stage itself. Captain Salman Agha and Khushdil Shah put together a much-needed partnership of 46 runs for the fifth wicket, to keep Pakistan in the contest.
But, after the dismissal of Salman Agha on the bowling of Ish Sodhi for 18 off 20, finding the fielder perfectly in his attempt to collect a boundary on the reverse sweep, the rest of the Pakistan batting lineup crumbled like a pack of cards. Khushdil Shah top scored with 32 runs in 30 balls, while for New Zealand, Kyle Jamieson (4-1-8-3) and Jacob Duffy (3.4-0-14-4), did much of the damage with the ball.
In the run chase, New Zealand got off to a flyer, courtesy of Tim Seifert, who was the only batter to be dismissed by the Pakistan bowling lineup on the day after he scored 44 off 29 with seven fours and one maximum. Following that, Finn Allen and Tim Robinson stayed unbeaten, to take New Zealand over the line, to achieve a comfortable win, and it led to a plethora of criticism for Men in Green on social media.
Below are some of the fan reactions on X after Pakistan were humiliated by New Zealand in first T20I:
The second T20I of the five-match series between New Zealand and Pakistan will be played at the University Oval in Dunedin on Tuesday, March 18.
