Munro leads NZ to comfortable victory against Pakistan

New Zealand have comprehensively beaten Pakistan by seven wickets in the first Twenty 20 International (T20I) on Monday.

Chasing 105, New Zealand lost two early wickets in shape of Martin Guptill (2) and Glenn Phillips (3). However, Colin Munro and Tom Bruce played sensibly and put 49 runs stand for third wicket.

Bruce departed after scoring 26 while Munro continued his good form and remained unbeaten on 49. Ross Taylor added finishing touches to the inning as he scored 22 to guide the team to a comfortable victory.

Rumman Raees was the star performer with the ball as he picked two wickets for Pakistan while Shadab Khan bagged one.

Earlier, the visitors had a disastrous start as they lost both the openers, Fakhar Zaman (3) and Umar Amin (0), early after been invited to bat first by the Kiwis. Mohammad Nawaz (7) and Haris Sohail (9) were the next to go, as Pakistan were reduced to 22-4 before six overs. Skipper Sarfraz Ahmed went back to the pavilion after scoring nine runs only.

Shadab Khan, out for a golden duck, followed next, leaving Pakistan at 38-6. Faheem Ashraf was removed for 7, and Hasan Ali fell after a brave 23 off 12 balls, with Pakistan at 83-8. Mohammad Amir went for 3, leaving Pakistan at 90-9.

However, Babar Azam continued his calculated resistance from the other end and ended up scoring 41 runs. Pakistan were bowled out on 105 in 19.4 overs.

With this victory New Zealand lead the three-match series 1-0 against Pakistan. The 2nd T20 between both sides will be played in Auckland on January 25.