Pakistan thump New Zealand in third T20I to keep series hopes alive

AUCKLAND: A combined bowling effort, followed by emerging opener Hasan Nawaz’s sensational century, led Pakistan to a nine-wicket victory over New Zealand in the third T20I of the five-match series here at Eden Park on Friday.

Set to chase a daunting 205, the visitors comfortably knocked the winning runs for the loss of just one wicket and 24 balls to spare.

The opening pair of Mohammad Haris and Hasan gave Pakistan a flying start to the run chase by adding 74 runs until the former perished on the penultimate delivery of the batting powerplay.

Haris hit four fours and three sixes on his way to a 20-ball 41.

Following his dismissal, skipper Salman Ali Agha joined Hasan in the middle and together they steered Pakistan to a stunning victory with an unbeaten 133-run partnership.

Hasan top-scored for Pakistan with an unbeaten 105 off 45 deliveries, laced with 10 fours and seven sixes, while Agha made a 31-ball 51 with the help of six fours and two sixes.

Jacob Duffy picked up the solitary wicket for New Zealand.

Put into bat first, the home side got off to a shaky start to their innings as Shaheen Shah Afridi, aided by Haris Rauf’s one-handed stunner, removed explosive opener Finn Allen in the first over.

In-form Tim Seifert was then joined by Chapman and they shared a brief 40-run partnership for the second wicket until the former fell victim to Rauf after scoring 19 off nine deliveries.

Following Seifert’s dismissal, Chapman launched a scathing attack on Pakistan bowlers as he smashed 11 fours and four sixes amid his belligerent knock.

The left-handed batter put together one-sided partnerships with Daryl Mitchell (17) and James Neesham (three) before eventually falling victim to Afridi.

He walked back after top-scoring with 94 off 44 deliveries as New Zealand slipped to 141/5 in 12.5 overs.

Following his dismissal, the hosts lost two more wickets as Abrar Ahmed removed wicketkeeper batter Mitchell Hay (nine) and Kyle Jamieson (zero) on successive deliveries and as a result, were further reduced to 164/7 in 15 overs.

However, a fighting knock by skipper Michael Bracewell down the order restored New Zealand’s expedition of amassing a big total.

He scored 31 off 18 deliveries with the help of three fours and two sixes until falling victim to Rauf in the penultimate over.

Rauf was the standout bowler for Pakistan, taking three wickets for just 29 runs in his four overs, followed by Shaheen Afridi, Abrar and Abbas Afridi with two each, while Shadab Khan chipped in one.

The two sides will now head to Mount Maunganui, which will host the fourth T20I on Sunday.