Mohammad Rizwan played a splendid knock of 98 in the final match of the T20I series
After winning the first two T20Is, it looked like Pakistan won’t let Kiwis win a single game in the series but some remarkable show from the visitors and heavy rain in the 4th T20I helped them square off the series in the end.
The hosts won their first two matches in Lahore before their loss in the third match at the same venue. The Blackcaps played well in the fourth T20I but the game got washed out with no second innings taking place.
Now, all that they could do was trounce Pakistan in the final match to level the series and they did that in style. After batting first, the hosts scored a mammoth 193 on the board. It looked like they will win the series, however, the best innings of the series came at the right moment with Mark Chapman scoring a magnificent century to make New Zealand victorious.
Today, let us take a look at the performances of Pakistan players in the series:
Batters
Mohammad Rizwan (7/10): The top-scorer for Pakistan in this series, Mohammad Rizwan played a couple of good knocks against New Zealand including two half-centuries. His fifty in the 2nd T20I came in a winning cause but a giant innings in the final match went in vain due to Chapman’s heroics.
Rizwan scored 98 off just 62 balls to help Pakistan post 193 on the board. It could have been Pakistan’s game but some great batting from Mark Chapman and James Neesham snatched the game away from Pakistan.
Babar Azam (6.5/10): Babar Azam scored a sensational century in the 2nd T20I which was enough for the team to take a 2-0 lead. However, this was the only good innings that came from his bat as he failed miserably in the others.
Babar Azam’s century in the series was one of the highlights
Babar has been a class batsman and doesn’t take time to get back to his zone. He would now focus to score more runs in the ODI series which is set to begin on April 27.
Fakhar Zaman (4/10): Fakhar Zaman had a forgettable series with the bat as he could only score 64 runs in the entire series with an average of just over 21. Zaman was rewarded on the basis of some exceptional batting in the PSL but the southpaw struggled a lot in the T20I series.
Now, his focus would be on ODIs and keeping in mind World Cup later this year, Fakhar would want to bring back his lost touch.
Saim Ayub (3.5/10): Saim Ayub made his international debut in the series against Afghanistan earlier this year and is still a young lad. He was fortunate to play in all the matches but couldn’t make much of an impact in the series.
His only good innings came in the first match where he scored 47 runs off 28 balls. After that, the left-handed batsman got out of a duck twice in the series. Ayub should get chances in future to prove his worth in the team.
Mohammad Haris (0/10): Haris played only one match in the series and got out on a golden duck. He was removed by Blair Tickner and Ish Sodhi took a catch. One bad innings can’t define any player and Haris is capable of coming back with a positive mindset.
Iftikhar Ahmed (6/10): Iftikhar Ahmed batted well in the series, still he couldn’t help his side win the series. He played a couple of great knocks including 60 off just 24 balls in the third T20I that went down in vain as the visitors won the battle by 4 runs in the end.
He played another fine knock in the final match but was ordinary with the ball as he remained wickless throughout the series.
All-Rounders
Imad Wasim (8/10): Imad Wasim had a fantastic series with the ball as the left-arm-orthodox bowler picked up 8 wickets in the series. He has been a regular member of the Pakistan team in the limited-overs format and is a big boost to the youngsters who are playing alongside him.
Imad can bat as well but the southpaw didn’t impress much this time though his blistering innings of 31 runs off 14 balls in the final encounter was a treat to watch.
Shadab Khan (3/10): Pakistan’s top all-rounder Shadab Khan had a series to forget as he failed badly with the bat, scoring just 21 runs throughout. His leg spin has always been an advantage for the team but this time he proved to be an average bowler in the series with just three wickets to his name.
Shadab would want to come back in form at the earliest keeping in mind the busy schedule going forward.
Faheem Ashraf (3/10): Bowling all-rounder Faheem Ashraf failed miserably in the series with both bat and ball. He could only pick up one wicket throughout the series and scored 50 runs only.
Being an experienced player, Ashraf has to take responsibility for the team by scoring runs and picking up wickets at crucial stages. He has done that in the past and has to do it for a longer period.
Bowlers
Haris Rauf (9.5/10): With 11 wickets in five matches, Haris Rauf was the star of the series. He ended up being the highest wicket-taker overall and bowled at an average of 13.55.
Haris Rauf picked up 11 wickets in the series vs New Zealand
The best part about the Pakistan team is that they have multiple options in their bowling line-up. If Shaeen doesn’t perform, then the team has other options on which they can rely and Rauf would now want to continue his dominance over New Zealand in the upcoming ODI series as well.
Shaheen Afridi (6.5/10): The star bowler from Pakistan, Shaheen Afridi is a pride of the country because of his consecutive good performances. He was excellent in the PSL and continued his best form after that as well.
In the recent series, Afridi picked up 6 wickets with an average of 26. It was not a bad performance for any fast bowler but a lot is expected from a quality pacer like Shaheen Afridi. Now, the left-arm pacer would want to give his best in the ODI series.
Zaman Khan (4/10): With only two wickets in the series, Zaman Khan must have had a tough battle against some quality Kiwi players. He is still new to the squad and would require some game time to bring his best form.
Zaman is not a part of Pakistan’s ODI team as of now but the young lad would definitely want to give his best for the national team.
Naseem Shah (2.5/10): Naseem Shah played just one game and remained wicketless in that. He went for 30 runs in his four overs but couldn’t pick up a wicket this time.
Naseem is a part of the ODI setup and would want to give his best shot there. He is super fast when it comes to bowling and can put any player in trouble.
