Shoaib Akhtar hits out at Abdullah Shafique, Haider Ali after NZ debacle

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar lashed out at the Men in Green after their embarrassing nine-wicket loss at the hands of New Zealand in the second Twenty20 International (T20I) of the series in Hamilton on Sunday.

Tim Seifert's 84 not out trumped an unbeaten 99 by Mohammed Hafeez as New Zealand claimed the second Twenty20 against Pakistan to take the series with a game to spare.

New Zealand chased down Pakistan's 163 for six with four balls to spare.

The Black Caps won the first match in the three-match series by five wickets with seven balls remaining.

Speaking after the match, Akhtar bashed Pakistan’s brainless batting in the match.

“The batsmen were all over the place with the way they played their shots. It was brainless batting with complete disregard for how the pitch was behaving and what the bowlers were trying to do. You just needed to place the ball on that small ground and it would easily have been a four,” Akhtar said while speaking during the post-match show on PTV Sports.

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He was also disappointed with the way young batsmen, Haider Ali (8) and Abdullah Shafique (0), threw away their wickets during the match.

“Even if someone has told you to play attacking cricket, it does not mean that you go out and play reckless shots,” he said. “Look at Haider Ali, he smacked a six and tried to repeat his shot rather than placing the ball into gaps or play a different shot like down the group or on the up.”

“Abdullah Shafique’s was trying to play a pull shot with his head down. It was Tim Southee, not Saudi Arabia that you were so scared,” he added.  

The third and final match of the series will be played in Napier on Tuesday, December 22.