Sharjah, Oct 27 (IANS): Pakistan beat New Zealand by five wickets in a Super 12 match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, here on Tuesday.
A sensational bowling performance by Haris Rauf (4/22) helped Pakistan restrict New Zealand to 134/8 in 20 overs. Apart from Rauf, fellow pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, Imad Wasim, and Hafeez picked up a wicket each at the sluggish pitch at Sharjah.
In reply, Mohammad Rizwan (33), Asif Ali (27 not out) and Shoaib Malik (26 not out) played valuable knocks and led Pakistan to victory with 8 balls to spare.
With this win, Pakistan moved to the top of the points table in Group 2 of the tournament.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 134-8 in 20 overs (Daryl Mitchell 27, Devon Conway 27; Haris Rauf 4/22) lost to Pakistan 135-5 in 18.4 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 33, Asif Ali 27*; Ish Sodhi 2/28).