PAK vs NZ 4th T20I: New Zealand beat Pakistan by 7 wickets
New Zealand defeated Pakistan by seven wickets in the fourth T-20 international in a five-match series in Christchurch. Pakistan batted first, scoring 158 runs for the cost of five wickets in the allocated twenty overs. Muhammad Rizwan scored 90 runs for Pakistan and did not get out. In reply, New Zealand reached the goal in 18.1 overs, losing three wickets. New Zealand leads the series 4-nil.
Shaheen Afridi and his team had the Kiwis on the ropes at 20 for 3 early in the powerplay, but Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips came together to form a massive combination and lead the hosts home. Earlier, New Zealand reduced Pakistan to 158 for 5 in 20 overs after winning the toss and choosing to bowl first.
The Black Caps pair hit undefeated half-centuries in a 139-run stand to help the home side reach 159-3 in the 19th over, responding to Pakistan’s 158-5. They were forced to stage a rearguard fight when Pakistan skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed New Zealand’s top order, reducing them to 3-20 in the third over. Mitchell scored 72 off 44 balls and Phillips 70 off 52, surging late on to win with 11 balls to spare after starting cautiously. Mitchell, a big-hitting allrounder, stated that the first task was to deal with Afridi’s immediate danger before the two established targets.
Pakistan paid the price for failing to assist opening batsman Mohammad Rizwan, who scored an unbroken 90 off 63 balls to dominate his team’s innings. Rizwan managed to keep the scoreboard ticking against a disciplined New Zealand onslaught spearheaded by seamers Matt Henry (2-22) and Lockie Ferguson (2-27).
In an innings with only six fours and two sixes, the 31-year-old came close to scoring his second T20 international century. Mohammad Nawaz, an allrounder, was the only other player to score more than 20 runs, hitting fast bowler Adam Milne for three consecutive sixes in his last over to reach 21 off nine balls.
Shaheen Afridi, Pakistan Captain: “I think the way Rizwan gave us the start, it was very good unfortunately we couldn’t grab the opportunity in middle overs. I try to take wickets in the first over, I feel 170 was a good total on this pitch, if we grabbed our chances, we could have won this game.”
Mitchell Santer, New Zealand Captain: “They have managed their chase extremely well like they always do, credit to Shaheen, he bowled amazingly upfront. We knew the new ball might do a little bit and that made it challenging up the top. For Phillips to come out and build a partnership like that and to finish it off we’ll take that for sure. We were able claw back in the end, credit to JP and Daryl for the way they went about it, if you get used to the pace, you kind of cash in.”
New Zealand’s playing XI: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (WK), Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (C), Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson.
Pakistan’s playing XI: Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Sahibzada Farhan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi (C), Mohammad Wasim Jr., Abbas Afridi, Zaman Khan.
