Image Credit- AFP
Pakistan had cause for celebration at the conclusion
of a difficult tour after suffering four humiliating defeats, as they held off
New Zealand in the last Twenty20 International by 42 runs, maintaining a 4-1
series lead.
At the toss, Pakistani captain Shaheen Shah Afridi
said that spin would probably be important on the worn Christchurch surface.
His prediction came to pass as Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, and Usama Mir
got six wickets in unison to dismiss New Zealand for 92, their second-lowest
total ever on home soil.
Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman scored thirty runs
each when batting first, but the majority of Pakistan’s hitters struggled on
the two-paced surface, finishing at 134 for 8 in their 20 overs. Although the
Pakistani spinners orchestrated a middle-overs collapse, New Zealand made a
promising start to the chase. With Iftikhar top-scoring with 3 for 24, Nawaz
and Mir each claimed economical two-wicket hauls, and in 17.2 overs, New
Zealand was bowled out.
Finn Allen got off to a great start in the chase,
hitting Afridi for a four around deep midwicket and then getting even more out
of Nawaz in the same area. However, Rachin Ravindra, who was substituted for
Daryl Mitchell in this match, was unable to get going as he cut Nawaz to short
third for just one goal.
Allen struck two more crisp fours off Afridi before
falling to Zaman Khan, his miscued attempt taken well by debutant Haseebullah
Khan diving forward at mid-on. The powerplay ended on 35 for 2.
When it became evident that the surface was
facilitating spin, Afridi launched a full-scale spin squeeze. As the necessary
rate increased, Will Young attempted to free himself by attempting to slog
sweep Nawaz. His effort was only successful up to Iftikhar’s deep backward
square leg, when he made the catch on his second try.
For Mark Chapman, everything was becoming worse by the
minute. He was run out for one after dropping Babar Azam twice in the opening
innings. This occurred prior to Iftikhar ending Tim Seifert’s challenging
19-inning game. He attempted a reverse sweep to a straight ball, but it was
unsuccessful, and he was caught in front. Pakistan’s review verified that the
ball would have struck the middle pole.
Glenn Phillips tried his best to take New Zealand
closer but with eight wickets down, it was a bridge too far even for the man in
form. Afridi finished off the game with two wickets in two balls as Pakistan
won with 2.4 overs to spare.