‘We played some entertaining cricket’- Michael Bracewell after New Zealand go 2-0 up in T20I series vs Pakistan

The captain of New Zealand, Michael Bracewell, was pleased with the team’s performance after the game, saying that they had played a fun style of cricket.

In Tuesday’s second match at Dunedin, New Zealand recorded a commanding five-wicket victory, continuing their incredible run in the ongoing Twenty20 International series against Pakistan. In the upcoming games, the hosts, who now lead the five-match series 2-0, will want to maintain their lead.

The host bowlers once again overpowered the Pakistani batsmen after winning the toss and choosing to field first, limiting them to 135/9 in a 15-over match marred by rain. Ben Sears, James Neesham, Ish Sodhi, and Jacob Duffy all took two wickets apiece. Despite some optimism brought about by Salman Agha’s 46 off 28 balls, the Men in Green were unable to mount a convincing effort.

Michael Bracewell commended his bowlers for adjusting to the difficult conditions while discussing the team’s bowling effort.

Excellent bowling performance. We threw ourselves into the wind. Cover has been in place for the wicket. It had more bounce to it. The bowling of the death bowlers was excellent. We were content at the half. Bowling into the wind was challenging. tried striking it against the wind. Our cricket game has been excellent. Well, the men are hitting the ball. They are hitting the correct lines. “Hopefully, we played some entertaining cricket, even though it was pretty cold,” he stated at the post-match presentation.

We must improve our powerplay: Salman Agha

Tim Seifert (45 off 22 balls) and Finn Allen (38 off 16 balls) established a strong foundation for New Zealand’s chase of 136. Allen struck three sixes off Mohammad Ali in the second over, while Seifert did the same after smashing four sixes off Shaheen Afridi in one over. The duo scored 66 runs in 29 balls. Even though Pakistan returned with a few fast wickets, Mitchell Hay and Daryl Mitchell made sure there was no use for them later, leading the team to triumph with 11 balls remaining.

Although they performed better than they did in the first Twenty20 International, the Kiwis still outperformed Pakistan. The team’s ongoing struggles with bat and ball powerplay were acknowledged by captain Agha. In the meantime, Pakistan’s bowlers struggled to hold back New Zealand’s aggressive top order.

“It was icy. Compared to the last game, this one was better. Batting batter was what we did. Fielding performed admirably. Patch bowling was good. It’s a distinct bounce that we must comprehend. We had good bowling after the powerplay. Haris was a good bowler. Our powerplay needs to be improved. As a batting team, we must improve our powerplay. As well as a bowling unit,” he added.