Swing hard and hope.
All New Zealand had to do was hold on to the catches.
They had no problem doing that.
The Black Caps took a 2-0 lead in the five-game T20 series with a five-wicket win in Dunedin yesterday.
Catches really do win you matches.
They took 10 in game one and another eight at the University Oval to restrict the visitors to 135 for nine in a reduced 15-over affair.
Some explosive hitting from Tim Seifert and Finn Allen ensured the chase was successful.
New Zealand’s first five scoring shots were all sixes.
Some of them went a very long way.
But it was the effort in the field that set up the win.
Jacob Duffy struck in the opening over.
Hasan Nawaz swung wildly and sliced a catch to Mark Chapman at point.
Fellow opener Mohammad Haris applied the policy of swing and hope with more success.
He got the ball to the rope a couple of times. But he looked like he was wrestling with what to do against back-of-a-length deliveries.
Ben Sears got him with his first delivery.
Haris could not get on top of the bounce and smeared it down to Duffy at third man.
Irfan Khan spoiled what would have been a wicket maiden with a monster six over midwicket.
Salman Agha was dropped by the man in the green and black Swanndri on the embankment.
The score was starting to mount quickly.
Ish Sodhi pushed through a quicker delivery and Khan miscalculated, spooning an edge to Sears.
The wrist spinner struck again in the over, this time removing Khushdil Shah for two.
The umpire was not convinced but they reviewed the decision and, yes, there was an edge.
Khan swiped a second and a third six which wiped away some of the disappointment.
He was threatening to drag Pakistan to a good score but got under another short-pitched delivery and was caught by Chapman on the boundary at deep midwicket for 46 off 28 deliveries,
Duffy found himself under pressure when Shadab Khan clobbered a six and four early in the over.
But the Otago spearhead responded with some variations and Shadab Khan holed out down the ground for a valuable cameo of 26 off 14.
Pakistan strike bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi started with a maiden but after that Allen and Seifert played a game of who can hit the most sixes.
Allen hit three from his first six balls and Seifert smashed four from the third over — two of them went out of the ground.
The 50-run partnership came up in the fourth over. Ouch.
Seifert delivered more pain, thrashing the next ball he faced out of the ground again.
Pakistan convened a conference. The plan — bowl slow and wide. Too wide as it turns out.
They had to bowl them again.
But the Seifert show did come to an end. He holed for 45 from 22 balls.
Allen departed soon after for 38 from 16.
By then the target was well with reach.
The rest of the chase was an anticlimax.
PAKISTAN
M Haris c Duffy b Sears 11 (10)
H Nawaz c Chapman b Duffy 0 (3)
S Agha c Chapman b Sears 46 (28)
I Khan c Sears b Sodhi 11 (9)
S Khan c Mitchell b Duffy 26 (14)
A Samad c Mitchell b Neesham 11 (7)
J Khan c Foulkes b Neesham 0 (2)
H Rauf run out (Bracewell/Neesham) 1 (1)
Extras (3lb, 2w) 5
Total (9 wkts, 15 overs) 135 (90)
Fall: 1-1, 2-19, 3-50, 4-52, 5-76, 6-110, 7-111, 8-114, 9-135.
Bowling: J Duffy 3-0-20-2 (1w), Z Foulkes 3-0-32-0, B Sears 3-0-23-2, J Neesham 3-0-26-2 (1w), I Sodhi 2-0-17-2, M Bracewell 1-0-14-0.
NEW ZEALAND
T Seifert c Afridi b Ali 45 (22)
F Allen lbw b Khan 38 (16)
M Chapman c Khan b Shah 1 (6)
D Mitchell c Khan b Rauf 14 (14)
J Neesham c Samad b Rauf 5
M Hay not out 21 (16)
M Bracewell not out 5 (2)
Extras (3lb, 4w, 1nb) 8
Total (5 wkts, 13.1 overs) 137 (80)
Fall: 1-66, 2-87, 3-91, 4-97, 5-132.
Bowling: S Afridi 3-1-31-0, M Ali 2-0-34-1 (1w, 1nb), K Shah 3-0-16-1 (1w), H Rauf 3-0-20-2 (1w), J Khan 1.1-0-23-1, S Khan 1-0-10-0 (1w).
Result: New Zealand won by five wickets.
