(Cricket News) Pakistan’s captain Shaheen Shah Afridi predicted at the toss that spin would likely be an issue on the used Christchurch surface, and he was right as Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, and Usama Mir combined to pick six wickets to bundle New Zealand out for 92, their second-lowest total on home soil.
After four crushing losses, Pakistan had something to smile about at the end of a tough tour as they defended 134 to win the final T20I against New Zealand by 42 runs and maintain a 4-1 series lead.
Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman batted first, scoring thirty runs each, but most of the Pakistani batsmen struggled on a two-paced track, reaching 134 for 8 in their 20 overs.
The chase was initiated brightly by New Zealand, but the Pakistan spinners orchestrated a middle-overs collapse, with Iftikhar top scoring with 3 for 24, Nawaz and Mir taking economical two-wicket hauls apiece, and Nawaz and Mir being bowled out in 17.2 overs.
Finn Allen led the way with 3 for 24, while Nawaz and Mir took economical two-wicket hauls each, bowling out in 17.2 overs. However, Rachin Ravindra, who was substituted for Daryl Mitchell, could not get going, slicing Nawaz to short third for 1.
With the required rate climbing, Afridi went on an all-out spin squeeze, and Allen hit two more clean fours off Afridi before falling to Zaman Khan, his bungled attempt well taken by debutant Haseebullah Khan diving forward at mid-on.
The powerplay ended on 35 for 2. Will Young attempted to break the shackles by looking to slog sweep Nawaz, but his attempt only reached as far as Iftikhar at deep backward square leg, who completed the catch on the second try.
Mark Chapman’s Day went from bad to worse when he was run out for 1 after dropping Babar Azam twice in the first innings, and before Iftikhar ended Tim Seifert’s frustrating 19-run innings. He attempted a reverse sweep to a straight ball, missed, and was trapped right in front, with Pakistan’s review verifying the ball would have smashed into the middle pole.
Mitchell Santner was then bowled by Mir, and Iftikhar removed Matt Henry and Ish Sodhi in the same over, as New Zealand fell from 53 for 2 to 72 for 8 in 32 balls. Afridi concluded the match with two wickets in two balls as Pakistan won with 2.4 overs remaining.
Pakistan took 11 balls to get their innings rolling and got their first boundary in the fourth over, courtesy of Rizwan, but Babar struggled mightily, managing only 4 of 15 in the powerplay as Pakistan crawled to 29 for 1 after the six overs. Glenn Phillips did his best to bring New Zealand closer, but with eight wickets down, it was a bridge too far even for the man in form.
Babar was dismissed for a mere twenty-four balls by Sodhi when he smashed a tossed-up wrong’un straight to Phillips at deep midwicket. Pakistan needed some momentum to turn the innings around at 53 for 2, and Fakhar gave it to him, smashing Lockie Ferguson for two sixes before smashing Sodhi for a four and a six the next over.
Southee came back and Fakhar took him for another six, but the bowler had the last laugh as the left-handed batsman failed to pick a slower off-cutter and could only misjudge his heave to long-off to fall for a 16-ball 33.
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