New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is likely to be ruled out of the remaining three T20I matches against Pakistan due to a hamstring injury that he suffered during 2nd match of the series played at Seddon Park, Hamilton on 14th January 2024.
Kane Williamson came to the crease after Devon Conway and Finn Allen added 59 runs in quick time laying a strong foundation. Williamson looked in fine touch putting pressure on Pakistan bowlers with some lovely shots. He made 26 off 15 deliveries and went off the field after the first drinks break. Finn Allen looked impressive with 74 to help New Zealand post 194 for 8 in 20 overs.
The experienced bowler Tim Southee took over the captaincy role for the remainder of the match. The New Zealand team decided to rest Williamson in the 3rd T20I match at Dunedin as Mitchell Santer was supposed to take the captaincy role. The right-handed experienced New Zealand batter had a major injury in the first match of IPL 2023 for Gujarat Titans against Chennai Super Kings.
He missed the entire IPL 2023 due to an injury. Williamson suffered another injury while being hit on the hand, in the 2023 World Cup match against Bangladesh in Chennai. He missed a few matches of the tournament but returned and helped New Zealand reach the semi-finals of the World Cup against India.
Kane Williamson returned to the T20I format after a long time. He scored well and made 57 in the opening match against Pakistan at Eden Park, Auckland on 12th January.
“With the test matches so close as well, which probably in the big scheme of things, in the short term for us, has a higher priority, I think it’s likely we’ll try and make sure that he is right for that,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said.
Kane Williamson has returned home. He will have a scan on Monday with the extent of the injury set to be confirmed the same day or by Tuesday. New Zealand would face South Africa in two Test match series which is part of the ICC Test championship cycle.
New Zealand won the 2nd T20I against Pakistan
New Zealand registered a comprehensive 21-run victory in the 2nd T20I match against Pakistan at Seddon Park, Hamilton. After the wickets of Saim Ayub and Mohammed Rizwan’s wicket, Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam stitched an important partnership, Kiwi bowlers made a strong comeback and picked wickets at regular intervals.
Adam Milne was the pick of bowlers for New Zealand with 4 for 33 while Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, and Ben Sears took 2 wickets each to bowl out Pakistan for 173. For his match-winning performance, Finn Allen was named the player of the match award.
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