PAK vs NZ: Mohammad Rizwan Zooms Past Mohammad Hafeez To Script Remarkable T20I Record

Pakistan wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan was not able to do much during the second NZ vs PK T20I match and was dismissed for 7 runs. Despite his poor performance, Rizwan became the leading six-hitter for Pakistan in the T20Is. Rizwan achieved the milestone courtesy of the only six that he hit in his 5-ball stay during Pakistan’s second innings in Hamilton.

Mohammad Rizwan surpassed Mohammad Hafeez to become the leading six-hitter of Pakistan. Rizwan now has hit 77 sixes for the ‘Men in Green’ in the 87 T20I matches he has played. Hafeez was the leading six-hitter for Pakistan in T20Is ahead of Rizwan and hit 75 sixes.

Mohammad Rizwan was also appointed as Pakistan’s vice-captain in the T20I format ahead of the series against New Zealand. Rizwan has scored a total of 2829 runs in 75 T20I innings with one hundred and 25 half-centuries.

Mohammad Rizwan becomes the leading six-hitter in T20Is for Pakistan

🚨 RECORD ALERT @iMRizwanPak is now the leading six-hitter for 🇵🇰 in T20Is 💪#NZvPAK | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/9e71hOuqTj

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) January 14, 2024

It was yet another loss for Pakistan in the NZ vs PAK T20I series and lost the second match of the series by 21 runs. The Pakistani team displayed a flop bowling and batting performance, which became the major reason behind its loss in Hamilton. No other batsman other than Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman were able to score more than 10 runs and they got out cheaply in single figures.

New Zealand were given a decent start by their openers while batting first and they added 59 runs for the first wicket. Devon Conway was dismissed for 20 runs, whereas Finn Allen continued his attack from the other end and scored 74 runs from 41 balls. Allen hit 7 fours and 5 sixes during his stay at the crease.

Apart from Finn Allen, skipper Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips played some necessary cameos of 10 to 20 runs and helped the team reach a first-innings score of 194/8. Haris Rauf picked up three wickets from four overs whereas Abbas Afridi picked up 2 wickets. Aamer Jamal and Usama Mir ended the innings with 1 wicket a piece.

Chasing down the target, Pakistan got off to a poor start when Saim Ayub was dismissed for 1 run whereas Mohammad Rizwan scored 7 runs. Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman added 87 runs for the 3rd wicket and tried to bring the team’s innings back on track. Babar played a knock of 66 runs whereas Zaman was dismissed for 50 runs.

No batsman other than Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman was able to stay at the crease for long and no batsman could cross the 10-run mark. Shaheen Shah Afridi was unbeaten on 22 runs and Pakistan were wrapped up for 173 runs.

It was another reality check for Pakistan in international cricket as their woes continue. The Pakistani team had a forgettable campaign in the 2023 ODI World Cup and they were knocked out from the round-robin stage of the tournament. Pakistan were also not able to beat low-ranked teams such as Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2023 and before the series, they also lost a T20I series against Afghanistan.

With the T20 World Cup coming up, Pakistan would want to focus on their problems and perform well in the upcoming tournament.