Pakistan fast bowler Abbas Afridi bowled an amazing delivery that knocked over Josh Clarkson’s stumps in the first innings. It was so good that even Babar Azam couldn’t contain his excitement.
In the second-to-last over, Abbas Afridi showed his skill by giving away only five runs in the first four balls and then taking two wickets off the last two deliveries.
First, he got New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell out on the fifth ball, but it was the sixth delivery that really caught everyone’s eye.
Abbas bowled a yorker aimed perfectly at the leg stump, completely fooling Clarkson. The ball hit the stumps, leaving Clarkson unable to defend in time.
With Clarkson out for a duck, New Zealand lost their sixth wicket, reducing them to 169 runs after 19 overs.
Watch here: Abbas Afridi cleans up with an indipping yorker
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NZ thump Pakistan in Lahore
In the beginning of the game, the home team chose to field first after winning the toss, letting New Zealand bat first.
Their opening batsmen, Tim Robinson and Tom Blundell, had a strong start. Blundell scored 28 runs from just 15 balls, while Robinson made an impressive 51 runs from 36 balls, getting his first-ever fifty in T20I matches.
Dean Foxcroft added 34 runs from 26 balls, with support from James Neesham who scored 11 runs unbeaten from 11 balls, and captain Michael Bracewell who made 27 runs from 20 balls.
The fielding team gave away 14 extras as New Zealand finished their innings with a score of 178/7 in 20 overs. Afridi was the standout bowler with figures of 3 wickets for 20 runs in 3 overs.
Pakistan had a tough start to their chase as captain Babar Azam got out early after scoring just 5 runs in the second over.
Youngsters Saim Ayub (20) and Usman Khan (16) tried to play aggressively but were dismissed quickly. Fakhar Zaman tried to build a partnership with Shadab Khan (7), but Shadab couldn’t perform as well as he did in the last game.
Fakhar held one end while Iftikhar Ahmed joined him. Together, they added 61 runs before William O’Rourke got a crucial breakthrough, changing the momentum of the game. Despite Fakhar’s 61 runs and Imad Wasim’s 22, the home team fell short by four runs, finishing at 174/8.