Mitchell onslaught powers New Zealand to their highest T20I total vs Pakistan

Listen to Story New Zealand, on Friday, January 12, recorded their highest T20I total against Pakistan after they racked up a massive score of 226 for 8 in 20 overs in the first game of the five match series at Eden Park in Auckland. It was also the first time that the Black Caps scored over 200 against Pakistan in a T20Is since their first meeting back in 2007.

Their previous top score of 196 for 5 came back in January 16 at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington. After being sent in to bat first on an excellent batting pitch in Auckland, the Kiwis got off to a nervy start. Shaheen Shah Afridi got the early wicket of Devon Conway as the Black Caps scored 6 runs in their first 2 overs.

Thereafter, Finn Allen hit Shaheen for 24 runs as New Zealand finally injected momentum into the innings. At the end of the powerplay, the hosts were at 56 for the loss of two wickets. Allen departed after scoring 35 runs off 15 balls. Kane Williamson scored 57 runs off 42 balls with nine fours before Abbas Afridi dismissed him.

Abbas made his international debut and finished with figures of 4 0 34 3. In the middle overs, it was Daryl Mitchell, who threw the kitchen sink at everything. Mitchell scored 61 runs off 27 balls with four fours and as many sixes before Shaheen dismissed him. Glenn Phillips also chipped in with a handy cameo of 19 runs off 11 balls with three fours.

In the death overs, it was Mark Chapman, who played his shots freely. Chapman scored 26 runs off 11 balls with two fours and as many sixes. On the back of his finishing kick, New Zealand went past the 200 run mark comfortably..