Preview of the second Twenty20 between New Zealand and Pakistan
The second Twenty20 between Pakistan and New Zealand will be played in Hamilton today. New Zealand easily defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the first Twenty20, and gained some much needed momentum, which has been missing from their game for quite some
time.
In the first Twenty20, New Zealand bounced back from their recent lean patch and restricted Pakistan to a modest total of 143. New Zealand would have taken a lot of heart from their performance in Auckland, as all their players came to the party and delivered
what was required from them.
New Zealand bowlers bowled exceptionally well in their spells, and did not allow the batsmen to settle into the game. Kyle http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mills-c76321 was expensive during his spells, but he managed to take three important wickets for his side. Mills is an important bowler in
the New Zealand side, and if he can bowl some decent overs in Hamilton, it would provide a great boost to the Black Caps. In Auckland he went for some runs in his first over, but bounced back with some good wickets in his remaining overs.
He has a good tendency of getting wickets in the opening overs, and if he is able to do that then New Zealand will definitely have an advantage in the second match. The middle over’s bowling is one area the Kiwis have really worked on in recent times, and
in Auckland most of their bowlers did a good job to keep the Pakistani batsmen in check.
Tim Southee was the main star for the hosts, as he grabbed a hat-trick in a five wicket haul in Auckland. Southee was successful in dismissing the main threats of Pakistani batting lineup, and also bowled a lot of slower balls to the batsmen. Bowling is
one area which New Zealand has got covered in the second match, and apart from AF Milne no other bowler went for some serious runs in the opening match.
In the batting department, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 will not be too worried as most of their batsmen performed well on Sunday. Jesse Ryder and Scott Styris were dismissed for a low score, but that was due more to their own fault rather than the bowlers.
New Zealand was quite ruthless in their run-chase, and managed to play the Pakistani bowlers with ease. This will give them the confidence going into the in the second Twenty20, as apart from spinners they played all the fast bowlers with ease. Martin Guptill
was the main performer for the Kiwis, and showed was in good touch with the bat. His 54 in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Taylor-c92915 played freely in their innings, and their big hitting could help the kiwis putting
up a good total in the second game.
The Pakistani batting was impressive in the first five overs of their innings, and showed some dominance over the Kiwi bowlers. There were some positives for Pakistan to take from the opening encounter. Mohammad Hafeez and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482’s attacking batting
looked promising, though they didn’t stay for the crease for too long. Afridi took on the Kiwi bowlers and scored 20 runs off just 12 balls.
Pakistan has a strong batting line-up, and if they can fire at the right time in Hamilton, then Pakistan is capable of setting a big total. In the first match most of the Pakistani batsmen got out while playing irresponsible shots, but if players like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Razzaq-c84421
and Umar Akmal can take some calculated risks the visitors can come out on top.
The spinners will again play a crucial role in the second match, as they bowled some decent spells for Pakistan on Sunday. Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi bowled well in Auckland, and have the tendency of making things difficult for the Kiwi batsmen. Shoaib
Akhtar was expensive in his spell but did take three wickets for his side, and if he can get some quick wickets for Pakistan in Hamilton, then http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 will definitely have a good chance of restricting New Zealand to a low total. Overall the main area of concern
for Pakistan is their batting, and if the batsmen can find their rhythm, Pakistan has a good chance of leveling the three match series at 1-1 with a game to play.
On paper, New Zealand is still the favorite to win the second Twenty20, as they seem to have most departments covered in their line-up.
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