[Watch] Daryl Mitchell's brilliant efforts to complete Shaheen Afridi's catch as Matt Henry claims first T20I hat-trick vs Pakistan

New Zealand fast bowler Matt Henry on Friday (April 14) picked up a hat-trick against Pakistan in the first T20I game at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bat first against a second-string New Zealand team. Black Caps pacer Adam Milne removed both Pakistan openers Babar Azam (9) and Mohammad Rizwan (8) inside the powerplay overs.

A 79-run partnership between Saim Ayub (47) and Fakhar Zaman (47) built the momentum for the Men in Green. The duo were separated in the 12th over when Chad Bowes aimed a direct hit at the non-striker's end to run out Ayub.

Matt Henry came to bowl his third over in the 13th over of the Pakistan innings. With the extra bounce, Henry forced Shadab to nick one behind the stumps while wielding his willow.

Henry dismissed Iftikhar Ahmed for a golden-duck as the Kiwi pacer induced an outside edge from the Pakistan batter on the final ball of the 13th over. He had to convince Tom Latham to opt for the review after the on-field umpire turned down an earlier appeal.

The 31-year-old then came to bowl his final over of the innings in the penultimate over. Shaheen Afridi heaved the slower ball towards wide long-on. Daryl Mitchell ran to his left to take the catch but was about to lose his balance over the ropes.

Mitchell threw the ball to Bowes, who ran from deep mid-wicket and stood inside the boundary line, before taking an easy catch parried by the former.

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Is Matt Henry the first New Zealand player to pick a hat-trick in T20Is?

Matt Henry picked up his first hat-trick in the T20Is and became the fourth bowler from New Zealand to achieve the feat in the shortest format. Jacob Oram, Tim Southee and Michael Bracewell are the other three Kiwi players to pick up a T20I hat-trick.

Oram was the first player from the Black Caps to pick up a hat-trick against Sri Lanka in 2009. Southee has two T20I hat-tricks in his career - versus Pakistan in December 2010 and versus India in November 2022.

Former Sri Lanka pacer Lasith Malinga is the only other bowler apart from Southee to bag two hat-tricks in the T20Is.