RESULT
19th Match, Group 2 (N), Sharjah, October 26, 2021, ICC Men's T20 World Cup
(18.4/20 ov, T:135) 135/5

Pakistan won by 5 wickets (with 8 balls remaining)

Player Of The Match
4/22
haris-rauf
Cricinfo's MVP
82.66 ptsImpact List
haris-rauf
Updated 26-Oct-2021 • Published 26-Oct-2021

As it happened - Pakistan vs New Zealand, Men's T20 World Cup, Super 12s

By Alagappan Muthu

Pakistan win!

Asif Ali, one of the newer members of this roster, and Shoaib Malik, who has been around since 1999, seal the game and make Pakistan favourite to progress into the semi-final. Two dominant wins for a team with perhaps the best bowling attack of the tournament. And remember what they say about bowling - they win tournaments.
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159
67
11

Asif Ali medical check

Asif Ali took a blow to his helmet in the 17th over.
A bouncer that he top-edged straight into the grille.
He received immediate medical attention and was cleared to go ahead. But in the 19th over, he calls for the physio again and plays is forced to a halt.
Pakistan need only eight runs off 11 balls and Asif played a huuuuuuuuge part in that, hitting two sixes in that same 16th over to change the game.
And when play resumes, he wallops another six off Trent Boult.
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12

Win predictor

Pakistan's chances of winning this game according to ESPNcricinfo's forecaster
Shoaib Malik, who made is Pakistan debut before Shaheen Afridi was even born, has this game in his hands.
But Asif Ali decides none of that. Lets finish it here. He tonks two sixes in two balls off Tim Southee. That's the end of the contest.
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Pakistan in trouble

44 Runs that Pakistan need to win this game off the last 30 balls.
That's a required rate of 8.8 per over. Based on how things have gone since the 12th over, it looks a big task.
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1w
W
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2w
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NZ back in it

W
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1w
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Sodhi takes out Rizwan now. It's the skidder that goes on straight. The length being short made the batter rock back to hit into the leg side, but as soon as the ball refused to turn, he was a sitting duck. To make matters worse, it stayed low too and pinned him plumb in front. Pakistan are wobbling. They need 66 from 50 now.
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Devon Conway! You Beauty!

He has pulled off a SCREAMER! He is running full tilt to his left from long-off. The ball is always going away from him. And at pace. He diiiiiiives full length. But it still seems too far away. Except, he reeeeeeeeeaches out. And the ball sticks to his fingertips. What a special catch. Could be the best of the tournament!
Mohammad Hafeez is gone. Mitchell Santner strikes. Pakistan 63 for 3 in 11 overs. They need 72 in 54 balls.
Game on?
23
23
19
15

Ish Sodhi strikes

The legspinner was, not so long ago, the No. 1 ranked T20I bowler in the world.
Sodhi is the kind of bowler who loves his variations. It's possibly the reason why he hasn't had a great Test career, but in limited-overs cricket, he is invaluable to New Zealand.
With plenty of variations, and a mind to make the most use of them, Sodhi tends to be his captain's go-to bowler even back home.
Here he gets a legbreak skid through on Fakhar Zaman, who went from trying to pull the ball to trying to just keep it out.
He couldn't. Pakistan 47 for 2 after 9 overs.
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Southee strikes

100 Wickets in T20Is for Tim Southee
He gets rid of Babar Azam. A slower ball that deceives the batter as he tries to slog across the line. Pakistan 28 for 1 in the sixth over. Still well in control.
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19
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Pakistan chasing in T20s

16 wins for Pakistan in 22 matches (excluding this) where they were set a target of 135 or lower
Of those six losses though, one of them came against New Zealand. Are we staring at a carbon copy of this scorecard from the 2010 T20 World Cup?
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This is Pakistan country

12 Wins for Pakistan in 12 T20Is in the UAE since 2016
Much of that success is built on a bowling line-up that has more to offer than a sale on Amazon.
Shaheen brings swing. Haris brings serious pace. Hasan brings hit-the-deck bustle. Wasim brings control. Shadab brings magic.
This game began with all of Sharjah screaming Shaheen's name. Then they began screaming Haris' name. They still haven't stopped screaming. Pakistan have bossed this
48
56
29
5

A boundary drought

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2n-l
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1lb
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No boundary for 23 balls before a flat-batted crash from Glenn Phillips to end the 17th over.
18
24
14
12

Pendulum. Meet mad swing.

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6
1
1
2
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W
Four and six for Williamson against Mohammad Hafeez to signal NZ's intent. Hat-trick of fours for Devon Conway against Shadab Khan. Just as NZ start to pick up momentum though, Hasan Ali runs Williamson out. Fun stuff.
NZ 95 for 4 in 14 overs. Conway 18 off 14. Phillips 2 off 4.
9 Williamson run out for the ninth time in T20Is. Only Ross Taylor (11) and Mahmudullah (10) been run out more often in men's T20Is.
21
18
12
12

All on Williamson now

New Zealand have used up their finishers. Daryl Mitchell didn't work at the top of the order. James Neesham ahead of Devon Conway didn't work either.
Both those experiments were meant to push NZ above the rate so that the other batters could play to their usual tempo. NZ aren't a power-hitting team. They tend to build a total in, well, all forms of cricket. That's been a big reason for their success in Tests. But here they realised they needed to shake things up. They took a punt. It hasn't worked. And as a result they're looking at a situation where they now have to finish a T20 innings without a recognised finisher.
Williamson, as he has often done in the past, will have to pick up the pieces. He's 13 off 20 in the 12th over. New Zealand 64 for 3.
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8

Sharjah starting to turn

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1
There was a ball in the sixth over from Imad Wasim - who is not normally a big turner of the ball - that left Daryl Mitchell completely squared up. The right-hander was originally planning to nudge the ball, with its angle coming steeply into him, through the leg side, but then it pitched and ragged. Not massively but enough for everyone to flash sheepish smiles.
1lb
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Next over, Pakistan go to their premier spinner Shadab Khan and he too was able to gain some help off the surface. Eventually, all these good balls pile up and force Mitchell to take one risk too many. After hitting Wasim for a six first ball of the ninth over, he goes for another one and is caught at long-on.
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W
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1
Pakistan are choking the life out of the New Zealand innings right now. If NZ can't break free here, they'll have to take on Shaheen, Hasan and Rauf in the death and that won't be pretty.
10
13
18
9

Haris says hi

149 Speed in kph of Haris Rauf's first ball tonight. And it was a ripper too. A leg stump yorker that had the batter hopping. Martin Guptill was in visible discomfort for one moment and then he was gone the next. Bowled by Rauf who was refusing to give Guptill the room he thrives on. Deny him the chance to free the arms and you end up with an innings that is like this: 17 off 19. Good planning from Pakistan.
18
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3

Some Wasim magic

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Take that over, turn it into a picture and gift it to Imad Wasim. That is him in a nutshell. He bowls flat. He bowls on the stumps. Specifically on leg stump to cramp the batter. He bowls too quick to come down the track as well. And he never ever bowls short. So no easy boundaries.
The one in this graphic was the result some very poor fielding from Shoaib Malik at point, let it right through him. So it should really have been 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0
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9
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5

Mitchell as opener?

It said so on the line-ups, but it felt like a typo. Daryl Mitchell opening the batting.
New Zealand have Tim Seifert and Devon Conway who typically operate at the top of the order for their domestic teams. Conway, as a left-hander, could have been especially useful in making Shaheen Afridi dip into plans B and C instead of auto-pilot-ly setting a right-hander up for the inswinger.
At a pinch, Kane Williamson could be pushed up too. Honestly, I love that option. I think it gives him the best chance to control the innings.
But here we have Mitchell, opening the batting for the first time ever in all cricket. Hard-hitter (SR 132 over 118 T20s) Potentially even a pinch-hitter sent out there to make the most of the new ball. Will it pay off?
10
9
4
7

Watch cricket on ESPN+

You can watch the game live in the USA on ESPN+ in English and in Hindi.
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2

Pakistan bowl

Tails calls Williamson, but it's heads. Pakistan have won the toss and they'll bowl. Babar notes once again that the dew has played a part in his decision making.
Pakistan: 1 Babar Azam (capt.) 2 Mohammad Rizwan (wk) 3 Fakhar Zaman 4 Mohammad Hafeez 5 Shoaib Malik 6 Asif Ali 7 Shadab Khan 8 Imad Wasim 9 Hasan Ali 10 Haris Rauf 11 Shaheen Shah Afridi
Adam Milne has come into the NZ squad as replacement (pending ICC approval) for the injured Lockie Ferguson.
New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Daryl Mitchell, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Devon Conway, 5 Glenn Phillips, 6 James Neesham, 7 Tim Seifert (wk), 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Trent Boult
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20
12
15

Spice? What spice?

If ever there was a team that is suited to play in an atmosphere like this, it is New Zealand. They are masterful at stripping the game into the bare essentials.
They will not be swept away by the occasion, or the narrative. They will hold firm and stay grounded. They will be dispassionate and they will problem solve. That is how they came back in the backend of the 2019 World Cup final and turned it into a classic. That is how beat India and became World Test champions.
That is how they will play through this T20 World Cup - although in a significant blow to their chances, one of their lead fast bowlers Lockie Ferguson has been ruled out of the entire tournament with a calf injury.
Bowlers who can hit 150 kph are always seen as a point of difference in a cricket match and Ferguson has already shown he can rattle teams with his pace. NZ would have banked on his four overs through the middle overs and the back end of the innings as well. Without him, that's two-thirds of a T20 innings suddenly needing a rethink.
8
6
1
10

Welcome!

This was supposed to happen in Rawalpindi. In September. But other things happened and so this will happen in Sharjah. In October.
Pakistan were are all righteous fire and brimstone at how not one but two teams refused to tour them on security grounds. They should be channelling all that anger and playing like men possessed. But there was no evidence of that in their supremely calm takedown of India. It was clinical, precise and glorious.
The always cool Babar Azam may well have had something to do with that - his marshalling of the players who were lost in delirium after they beat India the other day, pulling them into a huddle and reminding them that there is still a job to do was utter class - and he'll probably have a job on his hand keeping the emotions in check tonight as what should have happened a month ago finally comes to pass, and on the biggest stage of them all.
16
22
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Language
English
Win Probability
PAK 100%
NZPAK
100%50%100%NZ InningsPAK Innings

Over 19 • PAK 135/5

Pakistan won by 5 wickets (with 8 balls remaining)
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ICC Men's T20 World Cup
Group 1
TEAMMWLPTNRR
ENG54182.464
AUS54181.216
SA54180.739
SL5234-0.269
WI5142-1.641
BAN5050-2.383
Group 2
TEAMMWLPTNRR
PAK550101.583
NZ54181.162
IND53261.747
AFG52341.053
NAM5142-1.890
SCOT5050-3.543
First Round Group A
TEAMMWLPTNRR
SL33063.754
NAM3214-0.523
IRE3122-0.853
NED3030-2.460
First Round Group B
TEAMMWLPTNRR
SCOT33060.775
BAN32141.733
OMA3122-0.025
PNG3030-2.655