PAK vs NZ: Shaheen Afridi's Pakistan lose second T20I despite fifties from Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman

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PAK vs NZ: Pakistan lost the second T20I against New Zealand by 21 runs at the Seddon Park in Hamilton on Sunday, January 14. Pakistan were bundled out for 173 while chasing 195 as New Zealand took a 2-0 lead.

Babar Azam once again top-scored for Pakistan with 66 runs off 43 balls, and Fakhar Zaman also chipped in with a 25-ball 50-run knock, but both the efforts went in vain. Openers Saim Ayub (1) and Mohammad Rizwan (7) failed. Iftikhar Ahmed (40 and Azam Khan (2) also could not do much.

Captain Shaheen Afridi scored 22 runs off 13 balls towards the end, but that did not help Pakistan cross the line. New Zealand right-arm pacer finished with figures of 4/33. Tim Southee, Ben Sears and Ish Sodhi picked two wickets each.

Earlier, New Zealand finished at 194/8 after being invited to bat first. Opener Finn Allen impressed with 74 off 41 balls. Kane Williamson retired himself out for 26 off 15 balls with a tight hamstring. Mitchell Santner scored 25 off 13 towards the end.

Haris Rauf was pick of the Pakistan bowling unit. The express pacer picked three wickets for 38 runs. Abbas Afridi, who picked three wickets in his debut T20I, picked two wickets but only after giving away 43 runs in four overs. Aamer Jamal (1/42) and Usama Mir (1/39) were impressive once again.

Pakistan will now face New Zealand in a must-win game on Wednesday, January 27 at the University Oval in Dunedin.