PAK vs NZ / Pakistan lost its first match on Indian soil, New Zealand won easily

PAK vs NZ: The action of World Cup 2023 has finally started in India. The real matches of the ten-team tournament will start from October 5, but the practice matches of the tournament started from Friday, September 29 and the teams started testing themselves in Indian conditions and grounds. The Pakistani team, which came to India after 7 years, had a bad start here. The Pakistani team, captained by Babar Azam, lost against New Zealand by 5 wickets in its very first practice match. Apart from this, Bangladesh team, which was struggling with controversies, also defeated Sri Lanka by 7 wickets without any problem in its first warm-up match.

In this match played at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad, both the teams gave opportunity to almost all their players. However, New Zealand did not bowl to veteran fast bowler Trent Boult, while captain Kane Williamson only batted. At the same time, for Pakistan, star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was given rest in this match.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss in this match and decided to bat first. Abdullah Shafiq was fielded for the opening in place of Fakhar Zaman. However, Shafiq and Imam ul Haq failed. Captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan once again took charge for Pakistan. Both made a partnership of 114 runs. Babar was out after scoring 80 runs, while Rizwan retired after scoring 103 runs.

It was a matter of relief for Babar that Saud Shakeel staked his claim in the middle order. The left-handed batsman scored 75 runs in just 53 balls. Agha Salman also played a short but fast innings. In 50 overs, the team scored 345 runs losing 5 wickets, which was expected on the Hyderabad ground. Left-arm spinners Mitchell Santner (2/39) and Matt Henry (1/8) were the most effective for New Zealand.