Published: Jan 17, 2024, 05:07 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 17, 2024, 05:18 PM (IST)
NZ VS PAK: With two matches remaining, New Zealand emerged victorious in the Twenty20 International series against Pakistan thanks to a century-plus effort by starter Finn Allen. After choosing to bat in the third Twenty20 International in Dunedin, the BlackCaps amassed a massive 224/7 and held Pakistan to 179/7 to seal the series. This victory came after the series’ previous triumphs by 46 and 21 runs, respectively.
After building on his outstanding performance in the previous game, Finn Allen stood out as the player of the match, scoring 74 off 41 balls. Allen’s blazing innings in the third game, which contained an astounding 137 off 62 balls, created a new record for New Zealand. With his daring style, he blasted 16 sixes and five fours, matching the world record. Pakistan, on the other hand, once again showed themselves to be costly with the ball as skipper Shaheen Afridi gave up 43 runs and top bowler Haris Rauf gave up 60 in his four overs.
Babar Azam led the team in runs scored with the bat once more, scoring 58 off 37 balls, but he was still finding it difficult to find partners on the other end. Speaking in-depth about Babar’s performances throughout the series, Captain Afridi claimed that the batting group’s lack of backing for the former Pakistan captain prevented Babar from seeing out the matches.
“I had previously stated that Babar was still in good shape. He cannot be assessed by us after just a few innings. In the three games of the series, he has contributed three excellent innings. He was unable to conclude the games in our advantage. To extend the innings, he required an ally on the opposite side. We may have won the game if there had been a different batter on the other end with Babar “stated Afridi in the news conference following the game.
At an astounding strike rate of 157.39, Babar has amassed 181 runs in three matches, making him the best scoring player for Pakistan thus far in the series.The former captain of Pakistan is batting at number three in the order, which is different from many of his T20I appearances where he opened the batting order.
At Christchurch’s Hagley Oval, Pakistan takes on New Zealand in their fourth Twenty20 international match.
Pakistan squad: Shaheen Afridi (c), Aamir Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Azam Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Usama Mir, Zaman Khan
