After the opening game of the five-match T20I series was washed out due to rain, Pakistan managed to take a lead in the series with a comprehensive win against a second-string New Zealand side at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi. Shaheen Afridi picked up three wickets, while Mohammed Amir, making his return to international cricket, snared two as Pakistan folded the visitors for just 90 runs before chasing it down in 12.1 overs.

Afridi got the early breakthrough for the home team, removing Tim Seifert in the third over before Amir picked up both his wickets in back-to-back overs to reduce New Zealand to three down inside the powerplay. The spin duo of Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan then ran through the middle order before Afridi picked up to more to bundle out the hosts inside 18.1 overs.

In response, Pakistan lost Saim Ayub in the second ball of the innings while captain Babar Azam struggled to find his rhythm. However, Mohammad Rizwan's unbeaten knock of 45 from 34 balls was enough for Pakistan to chase down the paltry total. The wicketkeeper-batter laced four boundaries and a solitary six in his knock, en route to which he completed the milestones of 3000 international runs in the format.

Getting to the T20I feat in just his 79th innings, Rizwan emerged as the quickest batter to 3000 runs as he shattered India legend Virat Kohli and Babar's world record, both of whom reached the mark in their 81st innings.

Rizwan had reached the 1000-run mark in 31 innings, which is the ninth fastest in the world, before matching Babar's word record on reaching the milestone of 2000 T20I runs in 52 innings.

With the win, Pakistan took a 1-0 lead in the contest with the third T20I scheduled at the same venue on Sunday (April 21).

"Have to set tone in first six overs. The way Shaheen, Naseem and Amir bowled was outstanding. Will experiment with the combination, will try different batters at different numbers. On paper whenever you look at the Pakistan team, every player looks like a match-winner. We try to play according to the situation," Babar said in the post-match presentation.

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