Pak vs NZ: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan register another record

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan's spectacular opening pair, rewrote record books as they smashed most 50+ partnerships after taking New Zealand's bowlers to the sweepers in the second T20I of the five-match series in Lahore on Saturday.

This was the 19th 50+ partnership between the skipper and the wicket-keeper-batter in T20Is — the most by any pair in this format.

They are followed by India's Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul with 15 partnerships of 50+.

It must be noted that the home side leads the series 1-0 after winning the first T20I on Friday by 88 runs at the same venue.

The visitors made two changes for the second T20I with Henry Shipley in for Adam Milne and Cole McConchie replacing Ish Sodhi, who has a calf niggle. Meanwhile, Pakistan remained unchanged in the contest.

Eight Kiwis are missing because of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and skipper Kane Williamson has a bad knee injury, leaving the captaincy to batsman Tom Latham — and providing plenty of opportunity for newcomers to shine.

The remaining three T20 matches are on April 17 in Lahore, and 20 and 24 in Rawalpindi.

Pakistan and New Zealand will also meet in five one-day internationals after the T20 series, honing preparations for this year´s 50-over World Cup in India.

The tour comes as something of compensation for New Zealand pulling out of their visit to Pakistan on the day of the first game in September 2021, citing security concerns.

The Black Caps played two Tests and three ODIs in Pakistan just three months ago.