New Zealand defeated Pakistan in the first T20I at Auckland by five wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Tim Southee was the star of the show with his five-wicket haul and won the man of the match award. 
Batting first after being inserted in, Pakistan were off to a flying start thanks to the presence of Shahid Afridi at the top of the innings. Afridi scored a quickfire 20 off 12 balls even as some of the mishits were going to the short boundaries with consummate ease.
Even after his departure, Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad looked to be taking the side to a relatively strong position as they got to 58/1 in the sixth over.
It was at this stage that it looked like the side would probably be able to get to more than 160. However, Tim Southee’s introduction to the attack provided his side with some momentum as they lost a barrage of wickets.
Shehzad edged one to the wicket-keeper off the last ball of the Powerplay and this was followed by Southee returning back in his second over to take a hat-trick. Hafeez (24), Younis Khan and Umar Akmal were all consumed by the pace bowler to get to the third ever hat-trick in T20I cricket even as Pakistan slumped to 62/5.
Southee made it five wickets for himself when he dismissed Abdul Razzaq for one and despite some smashing effort from Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz – both of whom scored 30 – the Pakistanis could manage only 143/9 in their 20 overs. The tenth wicket partnership was worth 31 runs off two overs.
In response, Martin Guptill got the team off to a flier and hit some towering sixes off the bowling of Shoaib Akhtar. Unfortunately, at the other end, the Kiwis lost three wickets to the same bowler which meant that despite the superior run-rate, the New Zealand side was in a tad bit of danger of going down the same route.
However, Guptill’s 29-ball 54, which was later cut short by a run-out and a welcome return to form for Ross Taylor (39 off 31) ensured that the Kiwis went on to win the game by five wickets and with 17 balls remaining. Southee was the obvious choice for the man of the match and the two sides now move to Hamilton to play the second T20I.