Shaheen Afridi's Debut T20I Captaincy Ends in Loss as New Zealand Crushes Pakistan

Shaheen Shah Afridi's debut as T20I captain ahead of the World Cup ended in loss at Eden Park on Friday as Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson struck quick half-centuries to lead New Zealand to a 46-run victory against Pakistan in the opening game of the series.

Player of the Day Following captain Williamson's fifty-seven, Mitchell struck for sixty-one off twenty-seven balls as New Zealand made 226/8 after being sent in, the highest-ever T20I total against Pakistan.

With the first ball of the match, Afridi (346) got rid of Devon Conway, but Finn Allen (34) hit him for three fours and two sixes in his second over, causing him to lose 24 runs. The standout bowler for Pakistan was debutant Abbas Afridi, who finished with 3/34.

When Babar Azam was at the wicket, Pakistan had a chance to win. However, the run chase became unassailable once he was removed in the sixteenth over. After 18 overs, the visitors were finally all out for 180.

In T20Is, Tim Southee became the first bowler from any country to reach 150 wickets with a 4/25 score.

Despite scoring 80 runs in 14 overs between the eighth and fourteenth overs, New Zealand's innings ended somewhat weaker than they had planned. They might have been shorthanded by one batter since Mitch Santner was suddenly ruled out due to a positive Covid test.

With three sixes and two fours in his 27 off eight balls, Saim Ayub provided Pakistan an explosive start to the innings. However, it was unfortunate that he was forced to retreat too far. With Babar (57) and Mohammed Rizwan (62/1) at the wicket after five overs, New Zealand would have been worried, but the hosts prevailed thanks to disciplined bowling and deft catching.

Written with assistance from Reuters and AP/PTI

In Kanpur, the Pacers have a field day.

Calcutta: On the first day of their second Elite Group B Ranji Trophy encounter against Uttar Pradesh, the Bengal pacers stunned the crowd at Kanpur's Green Park Stadium on Friday.

Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal (3/20), Ishan Porel (2/24) and Mohammed Kaif (4/14), who made his debut, helped Bengal bowl out UP for just 60 in 20.5 overs. But in the last session, the hosts rallied, bringing Bengal to 95/5 as Bhuvneshwar Kumar claimed all five wickets.

After a delayed start, the pace three decided to bowl on a green-top and took full advantage of the conditions to surprise the host team. Even without the services of Dhruv Jurel and Rinku Singh, who were in form, UP's formidable batting unit struggled to contain a youthful Bengal attack.

On the day, only 48.5 overs could be achieved.

UP 60 (Mohammad Kaif 4/14, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal 3/20, Ishan Porel 2/24) is the short score. Bengal 95/5 (Shreyansh Ghosh 37 batting, Karan Lal 8 batting).

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