It was literally a heart in the mouth moment for New Zealand cricketers and fans at the National Bank stadium in Karachi on Wednesday. A flypast performed by Pakistan air Force jets during the Champions Trophy opener sent the Kiwi batters and fans ducking for cover. Defending champions Pakistan got off to a losing start, succumbing to a 60-run defeat at the hands of Santner and co.
Pakistan jets leave New Zealand batters, fans petrified
The incident occurred at the start of the PAK vs NZ clash in Karachi. Three Pakistan Air Force jets flew over the National Bank stadium in what was supposed to be a spectacle. However, not only were the New Zealand batters terrorized and forced to duck for cover but the fans were also legit scared.
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Batting first in the contest, the kiwis were powered to a mammoth 320-run total in the 1st innings. Centurions Will Young (107) and Tom Latham (117) punished the Pakistan bowlers, taking the pacer trio of Shaheen-Naseem-Rauf to the cleaners.
In response, Pakistan played an alarmingly slow-paced innings that saw them eventually fall short by 60 runs. In the absence of Fakhar Zaman, Saud Shakeel was sent to open with Babar Azam but he only managed to score 6 runs. Azam’s 64-run knock off 90 deliveries was too slow for the hosts in the run-chase, with his strike rate hovering just above 70. Late heroics from Salman Ali Agha and Khushdil Shah couldn’t help Pakistan get past the winning line as they were bowled out for 260 runs. Santner and William O’Rourke grabbed 3 wickets each to hand the defending champions yet another defeat.
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