Pakistan 107 for 3 (Rizwan 53*, Babar 33, Heyliger 2-18) beat Canada 106 for 7 (Johnson 52, Amir 2-13, Rauf 2-26) by seven wickets
There was finally something at the T20 World Cup for Pakistan to be happy about as they produced a strong all-round show to record their first win of tournament, beating Canada by seven wickets in New York.
The win was set up by the fast bowlers, who combined to pick up six wickets to restrict Canada for 106 for 7 in their 20 overs despite an Aaron Johnson 44-ball 52 – that score was quick by the standards at the New York venue, and Canada’s total was not insignificant at all.
In reply, Pakistan stumbled in the powerplay.
They had brought in Saim Ayub in place of Iftikhar Ahmed, and Ayub walked out to open with Mohammad Rizwan, thus splitting the Rizwan-Babar Azam partnership up top. The decision did not pay dividends, though, as Ayub fell for 6 off 12 balls.
But Babar and Rizwan brought their experience into play, adding a 63-run stand off 62 balls for the second wicket. Babar fell with victory in sight, but Rizwan stayed put, crafting an unbeaten run-a-ball 53 to give Pakistan victory 15 balls to spare.
Full report to follow…
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