முதலில் ஆடிய நியூசிலாந்து, 5 விக்கெட்டுகளுக்கு 180 ஓட்டங்களை எடுத்தது. பாகிஸ்தான் 20 ஓவர்கள் ஆடி, 5 விக்கெட்டுகளை இழந்து 158 ஓட்டங்களை மட்டுமே பெற்றது. MARTIN GUPTILL 48 பந்துகளில் 80 ஓட்டங்கள் எடுத்தார்.
Pakistan needed 181 against New Zealand in a must-win Super 10 Group 2 game of the ICC World Twenty20 2016, and started strongly through Sharjeel Khan’s 25-ball 47 to reach 76 for 1 in seven overs. That is when Kane Williamson introduced Ish Sodhi to produce the match’s defining phase.
Sodhi, playing his first international match in the state that he was born, came on the back of a strong reputation built around his work in the wins over India and Australia. The leg-spinner lived up to his billing to not only finish with the wicket of the dangerous looking Shahid Afridi and concede only 25 runs from his four overs, but also created enough pressure for Mitchell Santner to pick up two wickets and strangle Pakistan to a 22-run defeat.
When Sodhi was done displaying his skills in front of an almost full house, Pakistan needed 52 in 24 balls with six wickets in hand. But Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik could hardly find the gaps, as Pakistan failed to hit a boundary in its last 31 balls and finished on 158 for 5. With its third consecutive win, New Zealand became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals.
Before Sodhi’s heroics, New Zealand had ridden on Martin Guptill’s 48-ball 80 to make 180 for 5 after winning the toss on a placid track.
Guptill’s knock was laced with powerful hits to all corners of the ground. He lofted a length ball from Mohammad Irfan into the sightscreen for his first six in the second over of the game, and there was no looking back after that. When the Pakistan bowlers pulled their length back, both Guptill and Williamson collected easy fours square of the wicket.
