Twitter Reactions: Matt Henry’s hat-trick in vain as Haris Rauf’s masterclass blows away New Zealand in opening T20I

International cricket resumed on Pakistan soil after Pakistan Super League as Pakistan and New Zealand went head-to-head against each other in the first game of the five-match T20I series on Friday, April 14 at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Pakistan captain Babar Azam called it correctly at the toss and chose to bat first.

The decision, however, seemed to backfire for the hosts as opener Mohammad Rizwan was dismissed in the second over itself getting trapped in front of the stumps by Adam Milne. Pakistan further got a huge blow as captain Babar was also sent on his way back to the pavilion by Milne in the fifth over as he destroyed his stumps.

After losing their two big wickets, experienced campaigner, Fakhar Zaman and youngster Saim Ayyub bailed Pakistan out of trouble with their 79-run stand off just 42 balls. However, a miscommunication between the batters led to their partnership being ended. Ayub departed after a well-made 47 off 28 balls smashing six fours and two sixes in his innings.

Following his dismissal, Pakistan lost three more wickets as Shadab Khan (5 off 3) and Iftikhar Ahmed (0 off 1) were dismissed cheaply off consecutive balls by Matt Henry. The well-set Fakhar Zaman (47 off 34) was also dismissed by Ish Sodhi in the very next over leaving Pakistan reeling at 131/6 after 14 overs.

Henry further returned in the 19th over and dismissed Shaheen Afridi on the first ball to claim a hat-trick. Brilliant cameos from Imad Wasim (16 off 13), Faheem Ashraf (22 off 16) and Haris Rauf (11 off 5) helped Pakistan reach 182/10 in 19.5 overs. Matt Henry was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand as he picked 3/32 in 4 overs while Adam Milne and Ben Lister also picked up two wickets each.

Haris Rauf’s 4-fer derailed NZ’s chase

In reply, New Zealand got off to the worst possible start as opener Chad Bowes was dismissed after scoring just 1 by Zaman Khan. Will Young was dismissed in the very next over as he got cleaned up by Shaheen Afridi. The Kiwis further lost the big wicket of Daryl Mitchell in the fifth over as he departed after scoring just 11. Captain Tom Latham also succumbed to pressure and was dismissed lbw by Haris Rauf leaving New Zealand reeling at 56/4 after 10.3 overs.

Mark Chapman showed some resistance with his knock of 34 off 27 but didn’t get support from other batters as the Kiwis got bundled out for 94 handing a massive 88-run win for Pakistan. Haris Rauf was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan who picked up 4/17 in 3.3 overs and was deservedly awarded Player of the Match. As a result, Pakistan went 1-0 up in the five-match series with the second T20I scheduled to be played on Saturday, April 15.

Here’s how Twitter reacted: