Auckland : New Zealand beat Pakistan by 46 runs in the first T-20 of five-match series. A fighting half-century by Babar Azam went in vain as Pakistan lost to New Zealand by 46 runs in the first T20I of the five-match series, played at Eden Park in Auckland. Batting first, New Zealand posted a mammoth total of 226-8 on the board. In reply, Pakistan were bowled out for 180 in 18 overs.
New Zealand 226-8, 20 overs (Daryl Mitchell 61, Kane Williamson 57, Finn Allen 34; Abbas Afridi 3-34, Shaheen Shah Afridi 3-46, Haris Rauf 2-34)
Pakistan 180 all out, 18 overs (Babar Azam 57, Saim Ayub 27, Mohammad Rizwan 25, Iftikhar Ahmed 24; Tim Southee 4-25, Ben Sears 2-42, Adam Milne 2-50, Ish Sodhi 1-33)
Player of the match – Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand)