Super Sixes SRL | PAK vs NZ Evaluation Chart - Dominant Pakistan demolish listless New Zealand

ByAnirudh Suresh, SportsCafe Editor

04/28/2020

In one of the most one-sided encounters in SRL history, a listless New Zealand side were smashed to smithereens by Pakistan, who thrashed the Kiwis by a 92-run margin. While it was the openers who were the usual suspects with the bat, there was Imad who starred with the ball for the Men in Green.

Match Review

The Pakistan openers - Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman - have not shown mercy on any side thus far in this Super Sixes SRL and today, once again, the duo put on a 107-run stand to put the Kiwis on the back foot right from the very first ball. However, despite the openers firing, the middle order of Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Asif Ali failed to take full toll of the platform set by Babar and Fakhar as after a subdued end, the Men in Green eventually posted a healthy first innings score of 195.

In response, the Kiwi openers - Guptill and Munro - went BANG BANG from the get-go in an attempt to assert this authority in the chase, but wickets at regular intervals meant that the Blackcaps did not get a grip on the game at any point in the second innings. A brief cameo from Tim Seifert provided a spark but that only lasted 5 balls and post the wicket-keeper’s dismissal, the Kiwis lost their last 7 wickets for just 42 runs to slump to an embarrassing 92-run defeat.

Turning Point

Seifert’s dismissal in the 7th over of the chase turned out to be the final nail in the coffin for the Kiwis, who - not for the first time in this competition - post the right-hander’s departure, surrendered the game without a fight. Racing off to 61/3 off just 6 overs, Seifert provided Kiwis with the shot in the arm they needed, but in the end, it didn’t even matter as they ended up losing their last seven wickets for just 42 runs.

Highs and Lows

When Fakhar Zaman is in the mood, all you can do as a bowling team is put the ball out there and hope he somehow makes a mistake, but to New Zealand’s dismay, that was anything but the case today. The southpaw’s hat-trick of boundaries off Lockie Ferguson in the final over of the powerplay left the Kiwis absolutely dejected. It also made many fans get to their feet and applaud the left-hander, and hence that turned out to be the single biggest highlight of the game.

The Kiwis have made a habit of throwing the towel in well before we even get to the halfway stage of the match and today was no different. Their batting display today was meme-worthy, almost serving as the perfect template for the “Bae, come over, parents aren’t home” meme. It was the kind of batting performance that made you wanna throw your remote and break your television screen and it was borderline disrespectful to the fans.

Rating Charts

Powerplay exploitation: - Pakistan 10/10 and New Zealand 7/10

Can Babar and Fakhar start giving lessons to the other teams on how to get your side off to THE PERFECT START? I mean, it’s ridiculous how easily they do what they do. The very first over of the match - which yielded 14 runs - set the tone for the rest of the powerplay - and the match - and there was no looking back from there. The duo struck TWELVE BOUNDARIES inside the first six overs and took the team’s total to a staggering 74/0. Poor Lockie’s 3 overs in the powerplay cost 39 runs.

I really can’t put into words what quite went on in New Zealand’s powerplay today; it was almost they were playing for the lols. Twice a new batsman came in after the fall of a wicket and twice the batsman started his innings off with a boundary. In fact, after losing Munro, Taylor started off his innings with a SIX AND A FOUR! I mean, who does that? Not sure what went on inside their heads, but it worked to an extent as they ended up reaching 61/3 at the end of the powerplay. Not bad, if you ask me!

Middle overs manoeuvring - Pakistan 7/10 and New Zealand 1/10

We know Pakistan have the uncanny ability to change their avatars between matches, but today they proved that they are capable of doing it between overs. The Pakistan that showed up in the powerplay was just not the Pakistan that batted in the middle overs. Slow and sluggish without intent, despite getting off to a flyer, they could only add 71 runs to their tally for the loss of 2 wickets. Criminal when you’re 74/0 at the end of the powerplay.

I would have happily given a zero, but yeah, New Zealand did score 42 runs in the middle overs, so that yielded them one mark. But that’s about it. They lost Seifert on the very first ball post the powerplay and after that, it seemed like they were in a rush to head to their hotels and have a couple of beers. Hell, they could have given the bat to the ball-boys fielding at the boundary lines and those little kids would have done a better job. A shambolic performance, to say the least, one for which every player should apologise and hang his head in shame.

Death Bowling: New Zealand 8/10 and Pakistan nil/10

Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik are quite vocal off the field about why they are ‘seniors’ and why they deserve to be in the team, but if they’re gonna play the way they did today, they are better off sticking to commentary or something and paving way for an actual youngster to thrive in the team instead. The duo combinedly scored 48 off 37 balls and completely killed off the momentum generated by the openers. Fair play to the Kiwi bowlers for keeping their discipline intact, but I just can’t help but feel that the two ‘seniors’ made the job easy for them.

Well, New Zealand were hilariously bowled out one ball before the death overs even started, so thanks to that, they’ve enabled me to finish this article off quickly and take off early. Cheers to the Black Caps!

Match Frenzy O Meter - Terrible

This is the second New Zealand match to which I’m saying this - the fans need to be refunded for such a disgusting, disgraceful display. Pakistan basically just existed in the game and New Zealand handed them the match like a Diwali sweet. I wouldn’t have my worst enemy endure the pain of watching a lacklustre match like this one.