At a glance

At the Sydney Cricket Ground: New Zealand 152-4 (Daryl Mitchell 53no off 35, Kane Williamson 46 off 42; Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-24) lost to Pakistan 153-3 in 19 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 57 off 43, Babar Azam 53 off 42; Trent Boult 2-33) by seven wickets.

as the 13th over. After a slow start to the tournament, taking time to get back into the swing of things after injury, the beguiling left-arm fast bowler, Shaheen Shah Afridi, has begun to blossom again, taking key wickets of Finn Allen and Kane Williamson with new ball and old.

Wickets topped and tailed the powerplay. Conway was run out from a direct hit by Shadab Khan at mid-on – Pakistan’s fielding, usually a barometer of their wellbeing, was sharp throughout – off the last ball of the sixth over and when Glenn Phillips chipped a return catch to the left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz two overs later, New Zealand had lost their most in-form and dangerous batsman.

It needed Williamson to tie things together, which he did in his usual compact style, but he started slowly and acceleration

and boundaries were hard to come by.

Williamson clubbed the first six of the innings in the 13th over, but the slowness of the pitch countered any aggressive intent. Even big-hitting Daryl Mitchell struggled to clear the ropes, although his half-century, in 32 balls, was a vital contribution.

For once, the Kiwis looked flustered, dropping three catches in the field, while Pakistan played a near-perfect game. Babar’s cornered tigers march on to Melbourne.

The Times, London