Pakistan vs New Zealand, 2nd T20I at Lahore, PAK v NZ, Apr 15 2023 - Match Result

New Zealand put up a much better performance tonight and brought down the defeat margin to 38 runs from 88 runs last night. Mark Chapman played some delightful shots in his 65-run knock and took on the likes of Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan. Tom Latham couldn't push on after making 19 and Bowes slowed down after the powerplay as the spinners put the squeeze on and made the equation tough for the tourists. Haris Rauf was once again magnificent and picked up back-to-back four-wicket hauls. Earlier, Babar Azam played a gem of an innings and notched up his third T20I hundred in sensational style and sent Lahore crowd into raptures. Until next time, this is Rvel Zahid signing off. Cheers!

Babar Azam: "Definitely, I am very happy to perform in this match. Early on, there was help for the fast bowlers and there was seam movement but I and Rizwan built a partnership, and after Rizwan got out then I and Iftikhar continued to consolidate. I try to stay till the end and play all overs and utilized the last few overs and we managed to get a good total. Back-to-back wickets hurt you but we are working on this and we will sit and discuss about it because back-to-back wickets put pressure on you. Our bowling line-up is excellent, we have got experienced bowlers and some exciting young bowlers, Zaman is brilliant at death. Rizwan is feeling better, perhaps a one-game rest for him and he will be back in the side."

Tom Latham: "We have been there or thereabouts but we weren't able to finish the innings off, both with the ball and bat. When Babar plays like that, you tip your hat off. The bowlers are trying hard and we are not that far away. If we can put the pieces together then we have a good chance. We were a lot better than last night. You need to get off to a quick start while chasing 190 and we weren't able to do that today. It is a game of fine margins and can be fickle, we will take the learnings from the last two nights and come back stronger on Monday."

Prashan: "Tremendous improvement by NZ from last night."

RajithGoyal: "Pakistan should go with the youngsters and rest the seniors for the remaining matches. This series with Pakistan all-time greats vs Newzealand Z team does not make much sense"

Salman Farooq: "Ihsanullah should replace Faheem Ashraf. This Pakistan bowling attack will be lethal."

Faisal Jaan: "This Pakistani team has an outlook of a WC-winning squad, with superstars like Babar, Shaheen, Haris Rauf, Rizwan, Fakhar, and Shadab in their ranks"

Manthan Jain: "Shouldn't Pak have retained the last series squad? But more importantly, shouldn't NZ may have got their A team here."

Manthan Jain: "Mark Chapman can replace Williamson for WC."

SalmanFarooqi: "Haris Rauf has now 80 T20I wickets. The most by any bowler, since his debut in January 2020. Amazing success!"

raheel: "Pakistan should've played a B team as well to make this series interesting!"

aks: "That 4th wicket makes Haris Rauf ( 15.3 ), bowler with the 2nd best strike rate among the T20I bowlers and the best among Fast bowlers, with 50 matches and more, behind Rashid Khan ( 14.5 ). Good job Haris Rauf and your hard work..."

Mark : "NZ 'owe' Pakistan this tour and it is a chance for some of the fringe players and below to gain experience and should be seen in that light. I think some, like Tickner, are destined to always be fringe players but others, like Chapman, could slot in the main side. What NZ needs on this tour is for the main players, like Latham, Mitchell, Neesham, Henry and Sodhi, to really stand up. So far the batters of that group, in particular, have been disappointing."