Pakistan lost his second match vs NZ for 1runs

Pakistan's army of spinners was outstanding in Barbados to leave their side well-placed to maintain their record of never losing a Twenty20 to New Zealand. As in the second Super Eights match last year, Pakistan kept New Zealand down to a small total. Daniel Vettori, New Zealand's rescuer-in-chief, was again called on to revive his team after the struggling big names at the top left the lower-order plenty to do.

Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder provided New Zealand their first substantial start of the tournament after being sent in to bat, and a couple of McCullum boundaries at the beginning of the fourth over lifted them to 31 for 0. Ryder had kick-started the innings with a leisurely pull off Mohammad Aamer in the first over, but the innings began its slide when he picked out the man at deep square leg when trying to replay the stroke in the fourth over.

Martin Guptill was one of several New Zealand batsmen who seemed uneasy against spin. He was unconvincing against Pakistan's secondary spinners, Mohammad Hafeez and Abdur Rehman, and after being beaten by the turn a few times, he lost his patience and his wicket by trying to clear long-on, where Umar Akmal dived forward to take a low, one-handed catch.

The biggest blows for New Zealand came soon after, in the space of seven deliveries. McCullum, quieter after a series of early fours, top-edged a sweep to deep square leg, following which Ross Taylor, still to make an impact in the World Twenty20, nicked Mohammad Sami to the keeper. New Zealand slid to 58 for 4 in the tenth over, bringing in Vettori to do his familiar firefighting.

Against Shahid Afridi, who was varying his pace cleverly, and Saeed Ajmal, called on to play the Umar Gul-role of bowling four overs straight towards the end of the innings, Vettori was happy to play a series of sweeps and flat-batted hits down the ground to make more than twice his previous Twenty20 high.

Scott Styris gave him company for a while, before bottom-edging onto the stumps while attempting a cut just after having slammed Afridi for a six and a four. Vettori picked up his first two sixes in international Twenty20, and Nathan McCullum finished off the innings with a massive hit over midwicket to prop up New Zealand to 133.