In his first-ever T20I match, young Pakistani batsman Saim Ayub ignited the crowd against New Zealand. Chasing a mountain of 227 runs, Saim Ayub took Pakistan to a rollicking start. From the very first ball of the match, the left-hander attacked the New Zealand bowlers and made sure to put pressure on the opposition right away.
Saim Ayub smashed a no-look six off Matt Henry, which was the highlight of his innings despite several incredible shots. The quick bowler bowled a short ball down the leg during the fifth ball of the second over. Saim Ayub got inside the line of the ball and hit it over the fine leg boundary for a no-look six.
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Saim Ayub lights up Auckland in his debut innings
The young Pakistani batter’s skill level was evident as the ball soared for a massive six, leaving the fans stunned. After watching the shot, some fans on Twitter even compared him to Babar Azam and stated that they had not seen a better intent from Pakistan batsmen in T20Is over the years.
Saim Ayub’s no-look SIX off Matt Henry 🇵🇰🔥🔥 #NZvsPAK pic.twitter.com/MGTIgX8r6G
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) January 12, 2024
In the second over of the innings, Saim Ayub destroyed Matt Henry. The batter smashed him a four and two sixes. The crowd at Eden Park was delighted by the southpaw. Saim Ayub looked a veteran in his first T20I and looked set for a big knock. However, he was run out by Mohammad Rizwan in the over.
Rizwan played it back to Milne and the bowler turned and hit the stumps at the non-striker’s end. By that time, Saim was caught off guard and was run out. He would have been devastated as he was dismissed on 27 runs off just 8 balls, finishing with a strike rate of 337.50 in his maiden T20I.
— Cricket Videos (@cricketvid123) January 12, 2024
Later, Rizwan too departed when the Powerplay was about to end as he was caught by Devon Conway off Tim Southee in the final over of the Pakistan powerplay. Babar Azam played a decent knock and was dismissed for 57 runs off 35 balls as he ended up being Pakistan’s top-scorer.
However, Pakistan were found short in the run chase as they were bowled out for 180 runs. The Kiwis won the first match of the 5-match series and will now play the Men in Green at Seddon Park in Hamilton on January 14th.
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