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The White Ferns have been defeated in the opening T20I in Dunedin with Pakistan taking a wicket win.
WHITE FERNS VERSUS PAKISTAN - UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO OVAL, DUNEDIN
RESULT: PAKISTAN WIN BY 7 WICKETS
Bernie Bezuidenhout and Suzie Bates got their side off to a good start with the bat as they added 33 runs for the first wicket.
Bezuidenhout was the first to fall with Fatima Sana grabbing the wicket off a good catch by Omaima Sohail in the outfield.
Kate Anderson joined Bates in the middle, but their partnership only lasted 11 runs in 2 overs as Sana grabbed her second wicket of the day, bowling Anderson for 7.
Captain Sophie Devine joined the experienced Bates in the middle but once again the home side was unable to build a solid partnership with Bates falling LBW to Sana for 28 from 30.
Sana bowled an excellent spell of 3/18 from 4 overs, removing the top three in the Kiwi's order.
Maddy Green and Devine looked to try and get the White Ferns back on track and they seemed to have finally got control of things, but the wickets kept falling as Devine found herself falling to Aliya Riaz with Sana taking the catch.
Georgia Plimmer couldn’t carry on her form from the NZ XI matches as she only contributed four runs from six balls, being stumped by Najiha Alvi off the bowling of Pakistan captain, Nida Dar.
Hannah Rowe worked well with Green at the backend of New Zealand’s innings as the pair put on 38 runs in just under 4 overs before Rowe fell with four balls left in the innings, the score sitting at 118/6.
Green and Jess Kerr were able to see the White Ferns through to 127/6 from their 20 overs.
Green top scored with 43* (28) and Bates made 28 from 30. Sana took figures of 3/18 while Baig, Dar, and Riaz all got a wicket each.
Muneeba Ali and Shawaal Zulfiqar opened up for Pakistan and whilst their partnership was slow to start with, it did end up being one of the crucial reasons how Pakistan won.
They made 30 runs off the first 6 overs before Ali fell 1.4 overs later for 23 from 24 with New Zealand captain Devine getting the wicket.
Zulfiqar and Dar then played well through the next few overs, the 50 runs for Pakistan being made in 9.2 overs.
They brought up a fifty-run partnership in 24 balls with Zulfiqar contributing 26 from 13 and Dar 21 from 11.
When Zulfiqar fell in the 13th over, there were still 36 runs required from the last 7 overs. New Zealand would’ve thought they may be in with a chance when they had Dar four balls later for 23.
However, for Pakistan’s sake, Riaz and Maroof were able to see their side to victory and picked up a first-ever T20I win over New Zealand. Riaz’s late fireworks of 25* from 12 included 2 fours and a six while Maroof’s 13* from 18 provided some stability.
Zulfiqar top scored with 41 from 42 and Riaz’s 25* from 12 was the next top score. Devine took 2 wickets for New Zealand while Carson grabbed the other wicket.
White Ferns XI: Bernie Bezuidenhout (WK), Suzie Bates, Kate Anderson, Sophie Devine ©, Maddy Green, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Jess Kerr, Lea Tahuhu, Eden Carson, Fran Jonas
Pakistan XI: Muneeba Ali, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Nida Dar ©, Bismah Maroof, Aliya Riaz, Omaima Sohail, Fatima Sana, Umm-e-Hani, Sadia Iqbal, Diana Baig, Najiha Alvi (WK)
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