Watch cricket video highlights of Pakistan tour of New Zealand 2025. Second Twenty/20 between New Zealand and Pakistan. Venue of the match will be Dunedin.
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New Zealand’s dominant powerplay displays with both bat and ball efficiently saw off Pakistan in the second T20I in Dunedin, extending the hosts’ lead to 2-0 in the five-match series. Jacob Duffy, Ben Sears, and Ish Sodhi struck early to weaken Pakistan’s batting effort, limiting the visitors to 135 in the 15-over match, before openers Tim Seifert (45 runs off 22 balls) and Finn Allen (38 runs off 16) quickly finished the chase, putting together 66 runs in just 28 deliveries.
Salman Agha’s 46, along with the economical bowling of Khushdil Shah and Haris Rauf, were the silver linings for the Pakistan side. However, they were ultimately outperformed by New Zealand, even though the margin was narrower compared to the first T20I. The teams will now head to Auckland, where the visitors face the prospect of losing the series with another defeat. After Michael Bracewell, New Zealand’s stand-in captain, decided to bowl first, Duffy’s rising delivery caused opener Hasan Nawaz to miscue a shot to backward point right in the first over.
Sears then claimed the wicket of an aggressive Mohammad Haris for 11 when he edged the bowler to deep third. Agha, the captain of Pakistan, then counterattacked to inject some energy into the visitors’ innings, but the introduction of Sodhi by Bracewell proved detrimental. Irfan Khan’s leading edge off Sodhi led to him being caught at backward point, and just two balls later, Khushdil was dismissed when he was lbw to the wrist spinner.
Agha’s 46 runs off 28 balls posed a threat to New Zealand during the middle overs, but when he fell to Sears in the tenth over during his second spell, Pakistan lost momentum. However, Shadab Khan’s quick-fire 26 off 14 balls, along with Shaheen Shah Afridi’s 22 off 14, provided some late boost, helping the visitors reach 135 for 9 in 15 overs. James Neesham, playing his first T20I in nine months, ended with figures of 2 for 26, with both wickets coming in the 13th over.
“Our bowlers did particularly well into the wind,” Bracewell remarked after the match. “I believe that when the pitch has been covered for a day or so and offers extra bounce, our bowlers exploited the surface effectively. We were quite satisfied with the score at the break.” At one of the fastest T20I venues, a required run rate of nine runs per over was not too challenging. However, Afridi’s opening over to Seifert meant Pakistan got off to a good start.
Competing in Dunedin for the first time since his record-breaking innings, which included 16 sixes against Pakistan in January 2024, Allen kickstarted the chase by hammering three sixes off Mohammad Ali’s short deliveries in the second over. Seifert raised the bar in the third over, hitting Afridi for four sixes in the area between extra cover and deep square leg. With seven sixes struck in the first three overs – the second highest in that phase of any T20I (for which ball-by-ball data is available) – the openers appeared eager to wrap up the match.
Seifert was dismissed in the fifth over while looking poised for a swift half-century, as he misjudged Ali’s slower delivery to mid-on. Nonetheless, his 45 runs off 22 balls had made the chase significantly easier. Allen then clobbered left-arm pacer Jahandad Khan for back-to-back sixes in the seventh over before getting out LBW next delivery. His innings of 38 runs off 16 balls left New Zealand at 88 for 2 after seven overs, needing just another 48 runs from the remaining 48 deliveries.
“Following the maiden over, I felt it was a challenging chase, but then Finn and I worked well together,” Seifert, who earned the Player of the Match title upon rejoining the T20I squad for this series, stated after the match. “As a New Zealander representing my country is fantastic, and it’s enjoyable to reunite with the team. Competing alongside some of the world’s best players enhances your understanding of the game. As a player, you’re definitely evolving and improving.”
The strong start enabled New Zealand’s middle order to proceed at their own pace, although Mark Chapman and Neesham scored only single digits. Rauf, who substituted for spinner Abrar Ahmed, quickly dismissed Daryll Mitchell and Neesham in succession, but Mitchell Hay’s unbeaten 21 off 16 balls, along with Bracewell’s match-winning boundary, guided the hosts to victory with 11 balls remaining. “The ground was small, and we aimed to target their bowlers from one end with the wind,” Bracewell commented on the batting effort.
“However, the openers took aggressive shots from both ends [smiles]. Overall, we are quite pleased with our situation.” Pakistan’s captain Agha mentioned that their own performance during the powerplay was disappointing. “This game was better than the last – there were many positives – but there are still improvements to be made,” Agha told the broadcasters. “Our batting was superior, but we need to conclude our innings effectively. Our bowling was adequate, yet we must strive for greater consistency. We need to recognize and adapt to the bounce.
After the powerplay, we bowled well. We had moments of good bowling, but simultaneously, we need to achieve more reliability in our powerplay bowling.”
