NZ VS PAK - 1st T20I, Pakistan tour of New Zealand, 2024

That's all from our side from the series opener. We'll be back in a couple of days with the live coverage of the second T20I folks. Do join us, for now it's a goodbye from our side!

Kane Williamson: That was pretty chaotic. We had partnerships in the first half. The guys threw those punches, a lot of credit goes to the bowlers. A special mention to Tim Southee, that was a remarkable spell. Everyone contributed well with the ball. He (Southee) has been around for a long, long time, credit to his performances. Pretty good to have him out there with other youngsters. It was a fantastic game. It was great to see a fantastic crowd, hope they continue to support throughout the series. Need to build on the positives, the margins are fine in this format. A lot of good stuff, going to be a quick turnaround in Hamilton in a couple of days.

Shaheen Afridi: Proud moment to captain the team, proud moment for any player to lead his country. We played good cricket, we'll try to give our best in the next games. Williamson and Mitchell played really well. We have to take those catches, need to work on that. Ayub played a good knock, Abbas was impressive on his debut, those are the positives. We need to be accurate and use our variations going forward.

Daryl Mitchell, Player of the Match: You don't really know how much you need here. We tried to put the bowlers under pressure, also our bowlers bowled really well in the second innings. We know this wicket has nice pace and carry, we just played nice shots and put them under pressure. Love to play for NZ and like to perform in front of such crowd.

21:38 Local Time, 09:38 GMT, 15:08 IST: As a result of this emphatic win, NZ go 1-0 up in the series. On a fantastic batting wicket, Pakistan elected to bowl first and NZ made sure to make the most of the conditions thereafter. They did lose Conway early in the innings, however, Allen played a brisk knock at the top. Williamson and Mitchell scored fiftes, while the cameos by the lower middle order batters powered NZ to a massive total of 226/8. In reply, the Pakistan openers gave a quick start, however, none were able to carry on. Babar scored a fifty, but he hardly got any support from the other batters, barring a couple of impactless cameos. Southee was the pick of the bowlers as the veteran took four wickets and he was also the most economical of the lot. In short, a clinical performance by the Kiwis that was. Stay tuned for the presentations..

Southee to Haris Rauf, out Caught by Chapman!! NZ win by 46 runs! A short and wide delivery outside off, was the slower delivery. Haris Rauf throws his hands at it and miscues it towards cover-point. Chapman from point is quick to move to his right and he dives forward to complete a well judged catch. Southee finishes off with four wickets to his name... Haris Rauf c Chapman b Southee 0(2)

Southee to Haris Rauf, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Southee to Haris Rauf, no run, slower delivery outside off, Haris Rauf throws his hands at it, connects thin air

Haris Rauf, right handed bat, comes to the crease

Southee to Abbas Afridi, out Caught by Matt Henry!! Southee has another wicket, his third one. Was a short and wide delivery outside off and Abbas Afridi's flashy cut finds the fielder stationed at deep point. NZ within touching distance of an emphatic win. Abbas Afridi c Matt Henry b Southee 1(2)

Southee to Abbas Afridi, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Southee to Aamer Jamal, 1 run, short of a length on middle and leg, pulled to long-on for a single

Southee to Abbas Afridi, 1 run, short and quick on off, Abbas Afridi goes for a pull, gets a thick outside edge to third man, good stop in the deep and they are restricted to a single

Southee to Aamer Jamal, 1 run, flat bats the short ball to long-off for a single

Tim Southee [3.0-0-22-2] is back into the attack

Abbas Afridi, right handed bat, comes to the crease

Ben Sears to Usama Mir, out Caught by Williamson!! Pakistan are eight down. Ben Sears ends his spell with a couple of wickets. Back of a length delivery around off, Usama Mir throws his hands at it and the top edge has been taken by Williamson at mid-off. As easy as you like. Usama Mir c Williamson b Ben Sears 1(2)

Ben Sears to Usama Mir, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Ben Sears to Aamer Jamal, leg byes, 1 run, slower one on leg, Aamer Jamal looks to flick this away, gets hit on the pads and they take a leg bye

Ben Sears to Aamer Jamal, 2 runs, yorker length delivery by Ben Sears, Aamer Jamal digs it towards the leg-side for a couple of runs