A late start in the tournament did not affect Pakistan much, as the boys in green made a thumping start to their campaign. It was an unfamiliar position for the Pakistanis, normally the wins are set up by one or two exceptional performances but against the Kiwis, it was a perfect all-round team effort to get the things up and running in the tournament. It was a day to forget for the New Zealanders, nothing went right for them. It all started with a drop of a dolly like catch in the first spell by the captain, Taylor of his counterpart Pakistani. It did not stop here, in fact, the Pakistani account opened with an over throw. It was very unusual for Kiwis, who are brilliant in the field otherwise.

The Pakistani openers started brightly, both thrived on the pace and the bounce in the wicket and once more proved right that the bounce is good batsmen’s friend rather a foe. Nazir, coming into the after the string of the failures, looked more assured of the two openers. While Hafeez had a shaky start, he was lucky to get a life when Taylor dropped a regulation chance in first slip. Nazir gave Pakistan a brisk start and Jamshed built on the platform masterly. Hafeez played an anchor’s role, changing the strike around.

New Zealand seemed to be clawing their way back into game by three quick blows but Umar Akmal covered the lost ground with a brisk cameo to keep the momentum with Pakistan. Afridi also swung a few boundaries after a while that meant Pakistan put on an imposing 178 on the board.

A stiff target plus a talented Pakistani bowling attack to contend posed many stern questions but the Kiwis indulged themselves in more miseries by opting for a bizarre batting order. Williamson might be a potential test great but as a T20 opener, he is a mere pedestrian. Nicol kept the Kiwi hopes alive by a breezy start. Afridi, struggling for the form, suddenly, found his magic back. The guile in the fight, the foxing changes of the pace and trajectory and the relentless control, all were back for him. He made a mess of Nicol’s stumps with a typical Afridi flatter one. McCullum, not opening the innings was surprising and Vettori’s promotion ahead of Taylor, Oram and Franklin left every one baffled. McCullum found it hard to cut lose against the quality spin and when he did, Gul cleaned him up. Oram and Franklin tried to manage the run rate, skying at 14/over.

It looked all too difficult for them against the experienced Pakistani bowlers but they kept on coming back with meaningful boundaries. Taylor thrashed three consecutive fours in the penultimate over off Gul to peg the equation to 22 off 9. Gul held the nerve after that. With Ajmal bowling the last over, Kiwis needed 19 with Taylor back. Ajmal did the job and in the process grabbed 2 wickets to take his tally to 4 of the match. Hafeez again bowled an economical spell in a high scoring game. His 4 overs covered only 15, with first three of them going for mere 5 runs.

A brilliant beginning is always a refreshing sign but keeping in the mind, the hot and cold nature of Pakistani side, a huge effort is required to keep the things going like they have been in the first game. On the other hand, Kiwis had an off day in the office; the lapses in the field and in the tactics are not the things to do against a talented side in the grove.