"Once a wise man said You won't realise how good Babar Azam is until he's gone" - Top 10 funny memes after Pakistan's thumping loss vs NZ in 1st T20I

New Zealand beat Pakistan comprehensively by nine wickets in the opening T20I of the five-match series on Sunday (March 16) at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. The home team captain, Michael Bracewell, won the toss and opted to bowl first in the contest.

Kiwi pacers Jacob Duffy (4/14) and Kyle Jamieson (3/8) wreaked havoc on the inexperienced Pakistan batting line-up and helped their side bundle out the opposition for 91 in 18.4 overs. Leg spinner Ish Sodhi supported the two pacers well by picking up two wickets. Khushdil Shah was the top scorer for the Asian side with 32 (30). Tim Seifert (44), Finn Allen (29*), and Tim Robinson (18*) then played aggressively and took New Zealand home in just 10.1 overs.

Fans enjoyed the one-sided contest between Pakistan and New Zealand on Sunday and reacted by sharing memes on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. One of the memes about Babar Azam's absence from the team read:

Once a wise man said "You won't Realise how good Babar Azam is until he's gone."

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"Was just a great all-around performance from the bowlers" - New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson after win vs Pakistan in 1st T20I

At the post-match presentation, Kyle Jamieson received the Player of the Match award for his brilliant three-wicket spell in the first innings. Reflecting on the win, he said:

"It was nice to be back on home soil, favourable conditions, myself and Duff, we'll take these conditions and it was nice to cash in. I guess we plan for some carnage (in T20Is), for some balls to go out of the ground, nice to get these conditions, needed to keep the seam upright, it made our job easy and was a clinical team performance.

Jamieson continued:

"We have got a good crop of players, great depth and players who can exploit the conditions, it was a nice team win. He did an outstanding job (on Jacob Duffy), at the top and the back-end as well, Zak (Foulkes) as well, was just a great all-around performance from the bowlers."

University Oval in Dunedin will host the second T20I of the series on Tuesday (March 18).