Twitter Reactions: Pakistan thump New Zealand to register their first win on tour

A turnaround was demanded and a turnaround was delivered. The Pakistan team lost all the five ODIs and the first T20I against New Zealand was under tremendous pressure from the fans and former cricketers. Skipper Sarfraz Ahmed faced criticism but his team responded before it was a bit too late. It was their last chance to keep the three-match T20I series alive in Auckland. They won the game in an emphatic fashion to stage a comeback.

Having elected to bat first openers Fakhar Zaman and Ahmed Shehzad got them off to an exceptional start. They played all their shots and the small dimensions of the ground helped deposit the ball for boundaries. With little on offer for the bowlers the likes of Trent Boult and Seth Rance were very expensive spending runs with an economy of 9.25 and 11.75 respectively.

Zaman and Shehzad hit 11 boundaries and 4 sixes collectively and scored their runs with a strike rate of 178 and 129 respectively. The opening stand worth 94 in 10 overs set Pakistan up for a huge total. No.3 Babar Azam having struggled all this while got into the grooves as well and constructed another 90 odd runs stand for the 3rd wicket with skipper Sarfraz.

Babar scored a half century while the skipper’s contribution was 41 from 35 balls. The duo took Pakistan over the 200-run mark and they ended the 20 overs with 201/4 in 20 overs.

It was a huge task for the Kiwis to chase it but they are the best team to overhaul such a target at home. Things didn’t quite go their way in the second innings either as Colin Munro fell early, Kane Williamson bagged a duck. Martin Guptill and Glenn Philips were dismissed soon enough and the game was almost over before the first ten overs.

Faheem Ashraf was the one who broke their backbone with three wickets as Mohammad Amir and Shadab Khan shared a couple each. The other two bowlers Rumman Raees and Hasan Ali shared a wicket each. Some tight bowling, lose shot selection and reckless running tumbled the Black Caps in their chase and they lost the match by 48 runs failing to even bat through the quota of 20 overs.

Here are some of the best tweets and reactions around the game:

Sarfraz Ahmed today conceded first bye in 23 T20Is going back to year 2016. He kept to 2572 consecutive balls without conceding a sundry. #NZvPak

Most consecutive T20Is without a bye:

22 Sarfraz Ahmed
17 Denesh Ramdin
16 Brendon MCullum

— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) January 25, 2018

Pakistan register their first win on tour that too in style! Top order clicking & giving us the start with Sarf coming in and chipping at 4 followed by a good bowling performance! Fielding,in particular Haris exceptional – Onto the next now to win the T20 series #NZvPak

— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) January 25, 2018

The T20I in Auckland and the ODI in Dhaka today started at exactly same time. ODI has ended with SL winning by 10 wickets, T20I is still going on. #NZvPak #BangvSL

— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) January 25, 2018

Fakhar 50
Shehzad 44
Babar 50
Sarfraz 41

First time in history of T20 Internationals that each of the top four batsmen scored 40plus in the same innings. #NZvPak

— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) January 25, 2018

Sharp overall performance by Pakistan. Another reminder that one sole department can’t win you games. Effort needed at all fronts i.e batting, bowling & fielding. Most imp lesson: captain shouldn’t wait down the order while top batsmen crumble. #NZvPak

— Roha Nadeem (@RohaNadym) January 25, 2018

Best we have seen of Sarfraz…at 4. #nzvpak

— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) January 25, 2018

A very good innings by @SarfarazA_54 at 4 comes to an end! #NZvPAK

— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) January 25, 2018

Watching batting highlights of #NZvPAK & Loving @FakharZamanLive hitting massive boundaries & that is reminding me one the best moment of my life the #CT17 Final Pak V Ind.

— Ihtisham ul Haq (@iihtishamm) January 25, 2018

New Zealand in last 14 Int'l Matches:

Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Won
Lost to PAKISTAN ??#PAKvNZ #NZvPAK https://t.co/QnkqnitHpl

— MohammedAsifSiddique (@asifeen00) January 25, 2018

A much needed innings by @iamAhmadshahzad,well played champ?? Congratulations team Pak??#NZvPAK pic.twitter.com/gVGcD1EHQ7

— Ayesha Sher Afzal (@iamash555) January 25, 2018

Fakhar Zaman 's opening partners in first six games of NZ Tour:
Azhar – 6
Imam- 2
Azhar- 0
Faheem – 1
Umar Amin-2
Umar Amin – 0
Total – 11 in 6 innings
.
Today
Ahmad Shahzad scored – 44
4 times runs scored by other openers in 6 innings!#PAKvNZ #NZVPAK #PAKVSNZ #NZVSPAK

— Encrypted Layman!! (@FreddieFaizan) January 25, 2018