Shaheen Afridi’s debut as Pakistan’s T20 captain resulted in a 46-run defeat towards New Zealand within the collection opener in Auckland on Friday.
Put in command of the squad forward of the T20 World Cup in June, Shaheen claimed three wickets and promoted himself within the batting order however New Zealand nonetheless went 1-0 up within the five-match collection.
Put into bat, the Black Caps racked up 226-8, with Daryl Mitchell hitting 61 off 27 balls and skipper Kane Williamson making a brisk 57.
It was an eventful outing for Shaheen, who dismissed Devon Conway with the second ball of the match however bled 24 runs in his second over when Finn Allen (34) smacked him for 3 fours and two sixes.
Shaheen returned to take away the dangerous-looking Mitchell and in addition dismissed Adam Milne to complete with costly figures of 3-46.
Debutant Abbas Afridi, who claimed 3-34, was the decide of the Pakistan bowlers.
Babar Azam (57) anchored Pakistan’s chase for some time, however Tim Southee (4-25) led New Zealand’s disciplined bowling, which was aided by their sharp catching, as they bowled out the guests for 180 in 18 overs.
Shaheen promoted himself to quantity seven, however the ploy didn’t work as he fell for a duck.
New Zealand spinner Mitch Santner sat out after testing optimistic for COVID-19, the crew stated.
Santner has been in isolation on the crew’s Auckland lodge and can journey solo residence to Hamilton, which hosts the second match on Sunday.
