• Pakistan defeated New Zealand in the second T20I by 38 runs.

  • Babar Azam bagged the 'Player of the Match' award for his tremendous century.

Twitter reactions: Babar Azam’s scintillating ton propels Pakistan to emphatic win over New Zealand in 2nd T20I
Pakistan beat New Zealand in 2nd T20I (Image Source: Twitter)

In the second T20I of the New Zealand tour of Pakistan 2023, the hosts got the better of the visitors at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.

Batting first, the Men in Green set a target of 193 for the Blackcaps to chase. Pakistan’s batting performance was led by their captain Babar Azam, who scored an impressive 101 runs off just 58 balls with 11 fours and 3 sixes. Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan also contributed with 50 runs off 34 balls. For New Zealand, Matt Henry and Rachin Ravindra picked up a wicket each.

In reply, the touring side got off to a decent start, but lost wickets at regular intervals. The only standout performance with the bat for the Blackcaps came from Mark Chapman, who scored 65 runs off 40 balls. The rest of the batting line-up failed to make a significant impact as they finished at 154/7 in their 20 overs.

Haris Rauf was the pick of the Pakistani bowlers, taking four wickets for 27 runs in his four overs. Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim also chipped in with a wicket each. The hosts won the match by 38 runs and Babar was named the ‘Player of the Match’ for his impressive century.

“I am very happy with my performance in this match. There was a bit of help for the fast bowlers early on but Rizwan and myself saw that period through, built a partnership and then Iftikhar and myself finished it off. We utilized the last five overs and got to a very good total. Losing wickets back to back is a concern and we will discuss these things, it does put pressure on the batters when you lose wickets in clusters. We have very good fast bowlers and they performed brilliantly,” said Babar after the game.

Here is how Twitter reacted:

https://twitter.com/Harixkhanxz/status/1647296180886355981

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