New Zealand vs Pakistan - Quick flicks of the day

The T20 World Cup has had a rather disappointing start to it. The matches have been one sided, the minnows haven’t posed a threat to any of the top sides and even the cheerleaders have failed to provide the required dosage of entertainment. An in-form New Zealand against the most successful side in T20s promised to be a cracker and to a large extent, it did live up to the expectations. Pakistan posted a competitive 177 on a slow track. With the fire power in their bowling, it should have been a walk in the park for them. But the Kiwis gave them a good run for their money, ending up just 13 runs short of the target.

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat. They had the perfect start with Hafeez and Nazir both scoring at a brisk pace and without taking a lot of risks. Nasir Jamshed looked in top form, a display of class from him. He rotated the strike initially and then hit lusty blows into the crowd. Pakistan suffered a mini slump, but in the end, thanks to the good start, posted a total of 177. New Zealand started off rather slowly, both Nicol and Williamson just couldn’t break the shackles but the important thing was that they didn’t just gift their wicket away. Brendon McCulum played a pretty watchful knock of 32 from 31 balls. Late order flurries from Ross Taylor and Franklin took them close but Pakistan always looked in control. Ajmal ensured that wickets were taken at regular intervals and Hafeez suffocated the scoring rate at the start.

Sublime hitting skills were on display during this match and it had a lot of special moments and key takeaways.

Poor catching by the Kiwis

Ross Taylor dropped a howler at slips, as Mohammad Hafeez capitalized on the missed opportunity by laying a good foundation along with Nazir. Rob Nicol gifted Nasir Jamshed another life when he dropped a sitter on the boundary, and on top of that palmed the ball away for six. This triggered the onslaught by Jamshed and he smashed the bowlers to all corners of the park. New Zealand need to improve their catching as well as ground fielding because these tiny tit-bits can change the entire scenario of the game.

Jamshed- The new found No.3

Splendid technique, solid temperament. He is truly a find for the future. He has what it takes to perform and excel in all formats of the game. A 35 ball 56 does justice to his talent. Moreover, he is the kind of player who relies more on timing than power hitting. He easily dispatched Mills, Nathan McCulum and Milne away for sixes. He is the perfect batsman for the No.3 position as his solid technique and boundary hitting abilities can help Pakistan when in trouble and also when there is a need to up the ante. If Pakistan are to win the world cup, Jamshed would have a huge role to play in it.

The middle order worries

A solid partnership upfront between Hafeez and Nazir, and an even better one between Hafeez and Jamshed, was followed by a middle order slump. Hafeez, Jamshed and Kamran Akmal fell in quick succession and the platform laid by them was somehow wasted. Shoaib Malik also looked out of sorts. The innings had to be rebuilt again. Pakistan always tend to have this problem when they are not able to capitalize on a good start. The batsmen need to understand that it is not easy for the next batsman coming in to start scoring from the word go. They need to value their wicket and convert the starts into big scores.

Spin worries for the Kiwis

The pitches have finally started to behave in their normal fashion. The slow sluggish and turning pitches are back. Or is it just the brilliance of the Pakistani bowlers? Hafeez, Ajmal and Afridi bowled 12 of the 20 overs claiming 5 wickets and giving away just 75 runs when the asking rate was 8.85. New Zealand need to find a way to cope with spin or else they just won’t be able to go any further in this tournament.

The Ross Taylor conundrum

You expect your best batsman to face the maximum number of deliveries so that he can get his eye in and then launch the fireworks. But New Zealand, for some strange reason, had different ideas this evening. They held back Ross Taylor and sent in Vettori and Oram before him. Vettori before Taylor? Are You kidding me? There better be a good reason for it or else I don’t see any tactic behind it. And the way Ross was stroking the ball, it could not have been any problem with his fitness or his health. Also, McCulum should open the batting to provide a flyer, with Ross coming in at no.4.

New Zealand have certainly qualified for the Super Eights. Pakistan just need a close contest against Bangladesh in order to progress because of Bangladesh’s dismal performance against the Kiwis. Does this group have a final twist?