Dunedin: Pakistan captain Agha Salman admitted that their powerplay struggles with both bat and ball were a decisive factor in their defeat in the second T20I against New Zealand.
Despite a better showing than the opening match, the visitors fell short as New Zealand cruised to victory with 11 balls to spare. Pakistan, after being put into bat, managed to post 135/9, courtesy of a 28-ball 46 from captain Salman Ali Agha, including four boundaries and three sixes.
In reply, opening duo Tim Seifert (45) and Finn Allen (38) provided a brisk 66-run first-wicket stand as New Zealand chased down the target in 13.1 overs, losing five wickets in the process.
For Pakistan, Haris Rauf claimed two wickets for 20 in three overs. “It was a better game than last game; lot of positives but a few more things to do. We batted better, but we need to finish our batting better. Bowling was decent, but we need to be more consistent. We need to understand and adjust to the bounce. After the powerplay, we bowled well. We bowled well in patches, but at the same time, we need to be more consistent in powerplay bowling,” Agha said after the match.
“I think spinners bowled well, and then Harris came, and he bowled really well. I think we bowled well in patches, and at the same time, we didn’t bowl well in the Powerplay. We need to be a bit better in Powerplay and we need to be a bit more consistent. I think as a batting unit, we need to have a better Power play and just come to bowling, we need to have a better power play as well, so probably something we need to improve,” he added.
With this victory, New Zealand now lead the five-match series 2-0. Both sides will now feature in the third T20I, scheduled to take place on March 21 at Eden Park in Auckland.