In the second Twenty20 International between Pakistan and New Zealand, the Pakistani wicketkeeper-batter accomplished the feat
The first Twenty20 International between Pakistan and New Zealand washed out a few days ago after only two deliveries, so all eyes were on the second one. Following Pakistan’s toss victory, Babar Azam decided to field first. New Zealand lost three wickets in the powerplay alone, so they never really got going. The Kiwis were anticipated to put up a stronger fight, even though Pakistan was playing a subpar side. Nevertheless, the visitors blacked out for 90 runs in 18.1 overs, as none of the hitters could muster even 20 runs. The pace battery, which included Mohammad Amir (playing his first Twenty20 international match in 3.5 years), Naseem Shah, and Shaheen Shah Afridi,
Even after left-armer Ben Lister took a smart catch and bowled off opener Saim Ayub on the second ball of the chase after getting tonked to deep backward square-leg for a boundary to start proceedings in some style, a modest 91-run target was never going to be enough for New Zealand to defend going into the chase. Mohammad Rizwan emerged and immediately made an impact with a magnificent square drive to the cover-point fence, which resulted in a first-ball four.
In his 92nd encounter, Rizwan accomplished a notable milestone when he reached his third boundary of the innings by cutting a delivery produced by Michael Bracewell, the captain of New Zealand, to point. Thanks to the boundary that made his name in cricket history—beating legends like Indian hero Virat Kohli and his close friend Babar Azam to the 3000-run milestone in Twenty20 Internationals—he went from 16* (11) to 20* (12). In 81 T20I innings, Rizwan reached the milestone, whereas Kohli and Azam did so in just 79 innings.
With the exception of Kohli (51.75), who stands at the top of the pyramid, Rizwan’s T20I average is higher than the batters who top the chart for most runs scored in T20Is (49.60). Rizwan became the eighth batter to surpass the 3000-run threshold, ultimately leading his team to a seven-wicket victory and finishing with an unbeaten 45 off 34 deliveries.
