Super Sixes SRL | NZ vs PAK Evaluation Chart - Kane Williamson and Neesham take New Zealand home against Pakistan

ByAakash Sivasubramaniam, SportsCafe Editor

04/24/2020

Passing with high colours, New Zealand came out victorious against Pakistan in a rather one-sided snoozefest, with Pakistan’s batting unit folding like a cheap lawn chair. For the hosts, it was Williamson’s knock early on combined with the bowling efforts from Neesham which took them to a ‘W.’

Match Review

Pakistan won the toss and elected to hand the home side the chance to bat first, which immediately looked like a good decision with the wicket of Colin Munro. However, since then, things went from wow to duh for the Pakistan bowling attack, who struggled till the eighth over with the ball. And, when Guptill failed, it gave them the window to sneak in, which they did not take. Eventually, it became too costly too late for Pakistan as New Zealand scored 172 runs at the end of their innings.

It started right from where it left in the bowling department. The chase was over when it started for Pakistan, with the early loss of Fakhar Zaman and Mohammed Hafeez. From there, the total looked like 200+ with the pressure from the New Zealand bowlers. And with the loss of Babar Azam in the 6th over, the game was almost but over for them. However, Shoaib Malik-Asif Ali’s partnership gave them a ray of hope before Neesham ran past the batting order.

Turning Point

Trent Boult’s double-wicket over surely turned the screws tight for the Pakistan batting unit after New Zealand scored 172 in their attempt. First, it was the left-handed Fakhar Zaman who got out to the left-arm seamer with the score reading 6-1. And, immediately, things turned from bad to worse with Mohammed Hafeez walking back early to the camp as the score read 6-2.

Highs and Lows

Kane Williamson, please, someone, please do not take him out of contention for top-five players in the T20 format. He knows exactly how to bat, be it Test, ODIs or T20s. Here too, he proved a point with calm and composed innings, that consisted of six boundaries and a solitary six against Pakistan’s strong bowling attack. In the end, he scored 61 off just 42 balls, showcasing his talent in the shortest format. A special shout-out to Jimmy Neesham for his hattrick but the game was over by then.

Mohammad Amir, you got to do better in the formats you play right? While the rest of the bowling pulled their sock-off, it was the left-arm seamer who struggled the entire innings with the ball. Despite picking up the wicket of Tim Seifert, the rest of times, he was dealt with boundaries and sixes. Such has become Amir’s bowling in the span of time from being a proven wicket-taker to boundary-conceder.

Rating Charts

Powerplay exploitation: New Zealand 9/10 and Pakistan 8/10

New Zealand openers got off to a snoozing start, with just one run off the first over against Shaheen Shah Afridi. In the second over, they increased the momentum, scoring eight runs before Munro walked the long walk to the dressing room. However, once Williamson walked in to bat, everything changed drastically, with Guptill and Williamson scoring 22 runs in the next two overs before scoring eight of the final one, taking them to 43/1.

On the other hand, while their start was explosive - filled with boundaries and sixes, it also had wickets, that they could not afford to lose in such a run-chase. After the first six, they scored 46 runs, three more than New Zealand, however, the difference being they lost two extra wickets. And, with that their momentum fell dramatically as they lost the plot in the powerplay.

Middle-overs manoeuvring: New Zealand 8/10 and Pakistan 4/10

Oh well, so much has been talked about their opening pair and their dramatics at the top. In this game, contrary to all the talk, it was their middle-over manoeuvring which took the game away from the reach of Pakistan. The partnership between Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor took them to 120/2 at the end of the middle-overs, which gave them the platform to go bust in the death.

Non-existent, what is that? Are there points for just batting out the game through the middle overs? These are some of the statements made by Pakistan fans after watching their performance, which was terrible in all essence. After a shaky start, they somehow reached 67/3 but after that lost the plot, soaking everything wet. And, especially, in Jimmy Neesham’s over, they lost four wickets scoring just one run. To conclude, it was terrible in simple words, okay?

Death bowling: New Zealand 8/10 and Pakistan 5/10

Well, technically, New Zealand just bowled two overs in the death overs, so does that count? Why you may ask? It was purely because of the madness in the middle-overs, where Pakistan lost the plot not to mention six wickets. And, they did just score 28 runs losing six wickets in the middle overs. Talking about death, they just played nine balls, where New Zealand put the final nail on their coffin.

While Pakistan did an alright job towards the death end of the innings, the damage was already done by their middle-over bowling. In the death, they just conceded 37 runs in five overs, picking up three wickets which is a good-bowling effort. However, it was too late and too little to pull things back.

Match Frenzy O Meter - Average

The game had everything - good batting, bad bowling from New Zealand and Pakistan respectively. However, from a neutral perspective, the game was a snooze-fest, with only little show from Kane Williamson to lift the mood of the crowd. And, not to forget, the people who stayed to watch the entire game got a glimpse of a hattrick, with Neesham picking up four wickets in one over, damn!