The Napier sun may have blinded a few fielders and batsmen, but Pakistan’s gutsy cricketers refused to let it set on their cricket tour of New Zealand.
Coach Misbah-ul-Haq, who scored thousands of runs for his country, took immense pride in his side’s four-wicket win over the Black Caps in the third Twenty20 international on Tuesday night.
Despite Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson snaring three wickets in eight balls near the end, gloveman Mohammad Rizwan’s blistering 89 off 59 balls and a booming six from Iftikhar Ahmed ensured they chased down 174 with two balls to spare.
New Zealand’s 11-match winning streak at home ended, but they hoisted the silverware for a 2-1 series win before a McLean Park crowd of 6493.
Well versed in the challenges of touring, not much could have prepared Misbah for the horror buildup his side experienced on arrival in New Zealand last month.
Several Covid-19 positives were followed by managed isolation breaches which saw them issued a “last warning” by health officials and delayed their bubble training. Then captain and star player Babar Azam was ruled out of the T20 series and first test with fractured thumb, the same injury to befall opener Imam-ul-Haq.
“It was obviously a tough series for us in terms of preparations, coming here and having just six days to prepare for this competitive cricket. It was tough on the guys but they responded well and tried their level best and finally, it was a good win for us, a much needed win to get our confidence back,” Misbah said.
Pakistan showed enough in Auckland and Hamilton, especially with the ball, to show they’d be competitive. Then the tour squad’s luck began to change when their A team, the Shaheens, beat New Zealand A in Whangarei.
Rizwan, newly named test skipper for Boxing Day in Babar’s absence, smashed 10 fours and three sixes while veteran Mohammad Hafeez put Jimmy Neesham on the Harris Stand roof in his 41 off 29.
It was a bizarre night, and had the now obligatory sunstrike delay. It saw New Zealand batsmen Glenn Phillips and Devon Conway pause for around five minutes while it dipped below the Chapman Stand, while Pakistan fielder Haris Rauf had no idea where one chip shot from Tim Seifert went.
“They told us before the game and I had previous experience from my playing days, it happened and was quite difficult. It wasn’t too long a break,” Misbah said.
Now they farewell the T20 specialists and head to Tauranga for the first test, their confidence boosted as they try and halt the Black Caps’ 15-test unbeaten run at home.
Southee made a point of thanking the Pakistan team for their sacrifices to provide New Zealand with cricketing entertainment in front of crowds, amid a global pandemic.
The senior bowler chimed in with two wickets in two balls off the penultimate over with Pakistan needing 11 to win, and the Black Caps without legspinner Ish Sodhi (hamstring) and Martin Guptill (cut finger) during a dramatic second innings.
