New Zealand vs Pakistan: First T20 cricket match – as it happened

That’s it from the game in Auckland, which New Zealand won to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series against Pakistan.

We hope you enjoyed the coverage of the game and do join us again for more live blogs but for now, from the Al Jazeera Sport team, it’s goodbye.

Live action from the world of sport continues.

Later today, we will bring you live updates from the opening game of football’s Asian Cup, where hosts Qatar take on Lebanon.

Do join us for the build-up and commentary of the much-anticipated match.

New Zealand skipper Williamson describes the match as “chaotic”.

“The guys threw those punches. A lot of credit goes to the bowlers,” he said. “A special mention to Southee – that was a remarkable spell. Everyone contributed well with the ball. He [Southee] has been around for a long, long time. Credit to his performances. Pretty good to have him out there with other youngsters.

“It was a fantastic game. It was great to see a fantastic crowd. Hope they continue to support us throughout the series. We need to build on the positives. The margins are fine in this format.

“A lot of good stuff. Going to be a quick turnaround in Hamilton in a couple of days.”

Despite losing the match, Pakistan skipper Afridi was happy with his team’s performance.

“It’s just a start and we played very good cricket,” Afridi said in the post-match interview.

“We will try to give our best in the next few games. We need to do more work as a fielding unit.

“I think for us it’s a positive sign, Ayub played a good innings. You need to give them [the players] time and we are planning for the World Cup and that’s a start. As a bowling unit, we need to use variations at the right time.”

The teams will now head to Hamilton for the second match of the series on Sunday, before travelling to Dunedin for the third match on January 17.

The fourth and fifth matches will be held in Christchurch, on January 19 and 21 respectively.

New Zealand win the first of the five T20 internationals in Auckland by 46 runs.

Williamson (57) and Phillips (61) helped New Zealand set up a huge total before their bowlers completed the job. Southee was the best bowler, with 4-25, while Milne and Sears picked up two wickets each.

For Pakistan, their bowlers were guilty of leaking too many runs and their batters delivered an underwhelming performance, except for Babar (57).

Chapman takes a diving catch from Haris Rauf and that wraps up the contest for New Zealand!

Southee picks up his 150th wicket in T20 internationals!

He dismisses Abbas for one run, and Pakistan are now down to their final wicket.

Sears finishes his spell with another wicket, this time dismissing Mir, who is caught by Williamson.

Pakistan need 50 runs in 18 balls.

Oh, no! Pakistan lose their former skipper Babar (57) as he is caught by Williamson at wide mid-off. Sears gets the big breakthrough, and now Pakistan are under immense pressure.

The Pakistan bowlers will have to finish the job for the visitors.

New player Jamal hits Milne for a six and a four! Pressure is on Pakistan now as they need 58 runs in 24 balls.

Can Babar, with the help of the tail-enders, guide them to victory?

Milne picks up his second wicket as Pakistan skipper Afridi departs for a duck. It was a slow delivery that dismissed Afridi, who was caught behind by Conway.

Azam tries to hit big, but a diving Williamson pulls off a great catch to dismiss him for 10 runs.

Milne gets his first wicket of the match!

Babar smashes Sears for a huge six and then follows it up with a four, bringing up his 31st T20 international half-century. He is now third, behind Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, among the highest run-getters in T20 internationals.

Meanwhile, Pakistan need 68 runs in 30 balls.

Milne concedes 11 runs from the over, including a final-ball six from Babar.

The required run rate is increasing with every over. Pakistan need to catch up!

They need 81 runs in 36 balls to win.

Big hitter Azam starts off with a four on his first delivery as Southee wraps up the over with eight runs and a wicket.

Pakistan need 92 runs in 42 balls.

Iftikhar is dismissed for 24 as Southee picks up his wicket. The Pakistan batter is caught by Sodhi.

Henry bowls three dot balls, piling some pressure on Pakistan.

He concedes two singles on the following two balls, but Babar ends the over with a stunning six.

Pakistan need 100 runs in 48 balls.

Some sloppy bowling from Sodhi, who leaks three wides in the over.

He finishes it by conceding 10 runs, including a four from Iftikhar.

🚨 @iMRizwanPak has equalled @MHafeez22's tally of 76 sixes for the most 6️⃣s hit by a 🇵🇰 batter in T20Is 🏏#NZvPAK | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/3MYtKEfaYF

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) January 12, 2024