Mitchell, Williamson and Southee lead New Zealand to comprehensive win

In a frenzied, fun game at Eden Park in Auckland in front of a raucous weekend crowd, New Zealand beat Pakistan by 46 runs to pour cold water over Shaheen Afridi's coronation as T20I captain. New Zealand took advantage of a somewhat indifferent display with the ball from a Pakistani side that had opted to field first, with Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson striking half-centuries to top up a blistering attack from Finn Allen. Pakistan tried to pull things back with debutant Abbas Afridi's 3 for 34 an admirable display in hostile bowling conditions, but it wouldn't stop the home side from amassing 226. thanks to a late cameo from Mark Chapman.

Pakistan responded by unleashing the fury of a side out to prove a point, but lacked in control and pacing what New Zealand had possessed. The home side continued to chip away with regular wickets to dent Pakistan in pursuit of the colossus of a total, and despite a blazing start, the visitors never could get the asking rate under control.

Tim Southee, who became the first player to bring up 150 T20I wickets, was instrumental in reining Pakistan back in with four more wickets. A phenomenal second over where Mohammad Rizwan was tied up and eventually dismissed with a slower ball set the tone, and he would account for Iftikhar Ahmed at a pivotal moment in the chase later on.

There were plenty of cameos across the top six, but only Babar Azam was able to push on, bringing up a good-looking half-century in 33 balls. But Babar was never the man fully equipped to power through as the asking rate had soared beyond 14, and as he fell, Pakistan's challenge fizzled out with something of a whimper. Pakistan lost the last four wickets in 11 balls for seven runs as they folded for 180, giving the home side the initial edge in the series.

A Shaheen Afridi first over is always an event, and that was even more the case now he was wearing the captain's armband. The man made sure he would deliver, with a wicket off the second ball when Devon Conway had his bat turned, beaten by the extra pace to scoop one up into the covers. He spent the next four balls working his opposite number over, swinging it both ways as Kane Williamson played out four dot balls.

But if New Zealand started slow, Allen would make up for it with a savage onslaught that began with Shaheen's second over. Shaheen had spoken of the difficulty of bowling full at Eden Park with its short straight boundaries, and in that over, Allen offered a live demonstration. In the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final, Shaheen had removed Allen in his first over, and New Zealand never recovered from the blow. Here Allen would make amends by smashing each of Shaheen's first five balls for boundaries - two sixes sandwiched by three fours - to plunder 24 in the over and get New Zealand on their way.

Pakistan had begun to pull things back after Allen's dismissal, felling him with a slower ball shortly after Babar had spilled Williamson. Mitchell started slowly, but if there's one thing you know about him, it's that bowling full and straight to him is a bad idea on any ground. Especially if that ground is Eden Park where the straight boundary is smaller than 55m. Usama Mir chose to disregard that advice twice in the tenth over, with Mitchell tonking him for two sixes that landed on the sightscreen.

The next 12 balls were a blaze of boundaries as New Zealand plundered 42 runs off them, and while Williamson fell after a half-century which made up in grace what it lacked in explosiveness, it was Mitchell who lit the touchpaper. He would go after Aamer Jamal with similar ferocity as New Zealand set up for the death overs, and take one last bite at Mir in the 16th over, smashing him for three boundaries before finally holing out off Shaheen in the next over.

With its plethora of dropped catches, poor bowling lengths, mixups and miscues, this was by no means an elite match, but it was a tremendously entertaining one. That frenetic nature of the game was on full display in the early stages of the chase. Saim Ayub was the catalyst, blasting the first ball through the covers for four, before a majestic no-look bunt over deep backward square leg for six. The last ball of the over saw that rarest of things, a Williamson drop as Ayub was reprieved after scooping one up to mid-off.

Matt Henry put down a sharp chance to let Rizwan off the first ball of the second over, before Ayub let loose with two sixes and a four. But Pakistan's propensity for self-harm would strike again, as Ayub slipped attempting a run that wasn't on, and Adam Milne's direct hit caught him short. Rizwan tried to keep the tempo up with a six off the very next ball as the contest was slowly dragged back down to earth, but the 20,055 that had packed Eden Park got full value for money.