NZ vs Pakistan 1st T20: Babar-Rizwan Absent as New Zealand Crush Pakistan by 9 Wickets

New Zealand sprint to 1-0 lead after Pakistan fold for 91

Hagley Oval promised runs. Instead, it served a one-sided reminder of how brittle Pakistan can look without their two most reliable anchors. In the opening clash of the five-match series, NZ vs Pakistan 1st T20, the visitors crashed to 91 all out in 18.4 overs, before New Zealand coasted to 92/1 in just 10.1 overs to win by nine wickets and go 1-0 up.

No Babar Azam. No Mohammad Rizwan. And a new leader in Salman Ali Agha. Pakistan arrived in Christchurch talking up a reset after a flat Champions Trophy at home. What they ran into was a disciplined, well-prepared home attack that hit the seam, hit the deck, and never let the game breathe for Pakistan’s batters.

On a clear afternoon in the mid-20s Celsius, conditions looked friendly. Historically, teams chasing at Hagley have enjoyed better returns. The script tracked that trend. Once New Zealand won the early exchanges, the rest moved fast: quick wickets, a powerplay in retreat, and a middle order that never stitched a stand big enough to stall the collapse.

Pakistan’s batting came apart for familiar reasons. The top order couldn’t absorb the new-ball bounce, the middle order couldn’t rebuild without chewing up dots, and the lower order swung without support. There were starts, but no one batted deep. A mix of hard lengths from the tall quicks and smart changes of pace forced miscues into the ring and to sweepers. Legspin was used as a change-up, not a crutch, and it still returned control.

New Zealand’s chase was ruthless and risk-free. The openers set a brisk tempo, living on timing rather than slog. An early wicket changed nothing. The hosts kept hitting gaps, turned over the strike, and punished anything short or overpitched. With 59 balls left unused, the margin looked as stark as the scoreline felt in real time.

Michael Bracewell, standing in as captain, was decisive with his fields and bowling changes. He stacked the right men to the right matchups, never letting Pakistan’s right-handers free their arms square of the wicket. Early inroads with the seamers meant there was no need to chase wickets later; the pressure did the rest.

For Pakistan, the captaincy baton with Salman Ali Agha came with a brutal first day at work. With 91 on the board, defending was always a prayer. He tried pace up front, mixed in spin to break rhythm, and gambled with attacking fields for a wicket or two. Nothing stuck for long. When the chase is this small, you quickly run out of levers.

Selection told its own story. Without Babar and Rizwan, Pakistan turned to Mohammad Haris with the gloves and leaned on a middle core of Shadab Khan, Khushdil Shah, and younger faces like Muhammad Irfan Khan and Jahandad Khan. The attack had pedigree—Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf for pace, Abrar Ahmed for guile—but defending 91 strips those strengths of time and scoreboard pressure. Even good balls get nudged for ones and twos.

New Zealand looked settled even with a few newish combinations. The core—Finn Allen’s tempo up top, Mark Chapman’s left-handed stability, Daryl Mitchell’s range, Jimmy Neesham’s finishing—meant they could adapt to the pitch in minutes, not overs. Ish Sodhi’s control and the pace trio’s height and hit-the-deck style suited Christchurch perfectly.

Context makes the result sting a little more for the visitors. Pakistan came in with a 23–19 lead in T20Is against New Zealand and the hope of a fresh start after their Champions Trophy stutter. The gap is now 23–20. More than the numbers, it’s the pattern: when Babar and Rizwan sit out, Pakistan’s batting identity wobbles. Who absorbs the first 20 balls? Who plays the seamers down at 140-plus with bounce? Who is the release valve when dots pile up?

The answer on day one: no one. Pakistan’s plan A relied on hitting out of trouble, but Hagley punishes that without a platform. The powerplay needed a low-risk base—a couple of hard-run twos, a boundary an over, strike rotation through midwicket—and a designated anchor. Without that, the innings became a collection of skirmishes that New Zealand won one after another.

There’s a bowling angle here too. Afridi and Rauf create chances when they’re chasing wickets with men up. When the equation is tiny, batters can pick the safe pockets and wait. On Sunday, New Zealand did exactly that. A single to third, a dab behind point, a heavy bat swing to mid-on—rinse and repeat. The risks stayed low, the run rate stayed healthy, and the game drifted to a finish before Pakistan could engineer a squeeze.

What worked well for New Zealand? Pace discipline and the right lengths for Hagley. Hard length into the hip and upper-thigh area, nip-backers to target the top of off, and occasional fuller balls that invited drives with two sweepers patrolling. The plan pushed Pakistan to hit against angles and into protection. When the ball softened, the spinners cleaned up dots without gifting freebies.

What didn’t work for Pakistan? Tempo management. The innings lurched between block and premeditated swing. Without a stabilizer, the shot selection looked forced. A couple of batters tried to manufacture width against the heavy length; others tried the across-the-line release and found the infield. With the short square boundaries tempting, it was the straight field that stole singles and forced errors.

Selection, tactics, and what Pakistan fix before Game 2

Pakistan don’t need wholesale change to be competitive; they need clarity. One of two routes can steady the ship for the next match. Either recall one of Babar or Rizwan if they become available and rebuild around an anchor, or back an aggressive top three but give them a clear powerplay blueprint: two boundaries per over, five safe singles, no high-risk swings before the field opens unless the ball is in the slot.

Role definition matters. If Mohammad Haris opens, he needs a partner who soaks up the best ball for 20 deliveries and turns strike. If Shadab Khan bats in the top six, he must see spin in the middle overs and not walk in to salvage at 20/3. If Khushdil Shah is picked as a spin-hitter, he should face spin within his first 10 balls, not at the death against hard length.

The middle order needs a trigger to break dot-ball clusters. One option: a floating batter who jumps the queue when a legspinner or left-arm spinner comes on. Another: pre-call a boundary option every over—a hard sweep, a lap, or the push-over-cover release—so the innings doesn’t get stuck waiting for a perfect half-volley.

With the ball, Pakistan can hunt wickets early by stacking a catching ring and asking Afridi to own the top of off for three overs across the powerplay. Rauf’s first over can be bumpers and leg-cutter mix to test timing rather than feed pace on a true deck. If Abrar Ahmed plays, give him a slip for his first eight balls; you don’t get many chances when the target is small, so you might as well take them.

New Zealand’s checklist is simpler: keep the same discipline. Let the tall quicks own the hard length; let Sodhi attack with a ring when Pakistan try to sweep; keep the mid-on and mid-off a step inside to bait the chip and cut the single. With bat, maintain the low-risk gears and press only when Pakistan go searching.

The venue narrative hasn’t changed. Hagley Oval rewards new-ball skill and calm chasing. Pakistan knew that coming in. The difference was execution. The visitors played as if 150 was par and got stuck searching for it from the first over. On this ground, 140 with wickets in hand can be gold. New Zealand showed why.

Series-wise, this result is just one step, not the story. It does, however, raise selection questions Pakistan have kicked down the road for a year. Can they win away without Babar and Rizwan holding the top? Can they retool the middle order to handle bounce and high pace, not just spin? And can the attack create chaos when the scoreboard doesn’t help?

There’s time to answer all three, but not much. The five-match run gives room for tweaks without panic. A couple of smart calls—an anchor at the top, a floating hitter in the middle, and sharper powerplay plans with the ball—and the series can flip fast.

• Scoreline: Pakistan 91 all out (18.4 overs); New Zealand 92/1 (10.1 overs)
• Result: New Zealand won by 9 wickets; lead series 1–0
• Venue: Hagley Oval, Christchurch; chasing trend held
• Head-to-head: Pakistan’s lead trimmed to 23–20

For now, the takeaway is blunt. New Zealand arrived with a plan and executed it cleanly. Pakistan arrived with a reset and left with a reminder: T20Is are unforgiving when the top order wobbles, especially at Hagley, and especially without their two best problem-solvers at the crease.