Black Caps crash to heavy defeat in first Pakistan T20

The Black Caps Matt Henry is disappointed after a catch is dropped.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

The Black Caps have 24 hours to turn their fortunes around after slumping to a listless 88-run loss to Pakistan in the first T20 international in Lahore.

Matt Henry claimed a hat-trick as Pakistan were dismissed for 182 off the penultimate ball, a total which New Zealand captain Tom Latham conceded was “above par” on a pitch that assisted the bowlers.

Latham was among the host of batsmen who then failed to fire in a run chase that ended at 94 all out off 15.3 overs, having failled to handle the pace and movement of Haris Rauf, who claimed career-best figures of 4-18 off 3.3 overs.

Mark Chapman was New Zealand’s best performer with the bat, scoring 34 off 27 balls, which included one of just two sixes his team could manage at Gaddafi Stadium.

However, none of the Black Caps batters had the freedom to play their shots enjoyed by Pakistan left-handers Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub, who both scored 47 and added 79 for the third wicket inside seven overs.

Henry’s 3-32 were standout figures – becoming the fourth New Zealander to claim a T20 hat-trick in the process – but his fellow-bowlers weren’t as effective.

New ball partner Adam Milne was loose in taking 2-51 off his four overs while legspinner Ish Sodhi was also expensive.

The tourists were fielding an understrength team because a handful of their best players are on IPL T20 league duty in India.

However, Latham didn’t want to use that as an excuse, saying his players are “professionals” who should be capable of better.

He conceded they possibly hadn’t had enough time to adapt to local conditions and said they’d need to quickly find their feet ahead of the second of five T20s starting at the same venue tomorrow morning.

– RNZ