Pakistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan stepped up for his side in the third and final Twenty20 International (T20I) against New Zealand as the Men in Green overcame the dominant Kiwi side at Mclean Park in Napier on Tuesday.
Chasing a tricky target of 174, the tourists lost opener Haider Ali (11 off nine deliveries) early courtesy of an amazing catch by substitute fielder Daryl Mitchell off the bowling of fast-bowler Scott Kuggeleijn.
The in-form Mohammad Hafeez then joined Rizwan for a crucial 72-run partnership that laid the foundation for Pakistan’s chase. The veteran all-rounder continued his incredible run scoring a breezy 41-run knock off just 29 deliveries to set the pace for the innings.
Kuggeleijn got the better of Hafeez, caught by Mitchell, to drive the chase into a very dramatic final stage. The next batsman in was Khushdil Shah who could not get his timing right, soon falling to the bowling of fast-bowler James Neesham as Mitchell completed his third catch of the match.
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Fast-bowler Tim Southee than breathed some life into the Kiwi’s defense by taking two wickets in two deliveries removing all-rounder Faheem Ashraf (2) and Shadab Khan (0) to add an interesting wrinkle into the match.
As mayhem surrounded the other side, Rizwan took the match by the collars and built a strong innings on the foundations of his cautious start. The batsman raced to 89 runs off just 59 balls, hitting boundaries in key moments to stay ahead of the required run-rate, to put his team in a comfortable position despite the head-scratching knocks from Pakistan’s other batsmen.
Rizwan finally fell in the last over of the chase, caught by fielder Devon Conway off the bowling of Kyle Jamieson, after almost guiding his side to the finishing line. In the end, batsman Iftikhar Ahmed (14 from seven deliveries) sealed the match for his side with a gigantic six to make sure the Men in Green did not lose the T20I series three-nil.
Southee was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand picking up two wickets at the expense of 25 runs in his four overs.
Earlier, Pakistan’s captain Shadab Khan won the toss and elected to field first. Openers Martin Guptill and Tim Seifert got their team off to a flying start, scoring 40 runs in the first 27 deliveries.
Fast-bowler Haris Rauf cramped Guptill for room which resulted in a simple catch to Shadab after the batsman had gotten a decent start scoring 19 runs off 16 deliveries.
The ever-reliable Kane Williamson (1) had an uncharacteristic dismissal off the bowling of fast-bowler Faheem Ashraf as he chopped on a delivery to his stumps.
Seifert soon followed, courtesy of a beautiful delivery from Faheem that penetrated his defenses, as Pakistan started piling on the pressure on the Kiwi batsmen.
Batsmen Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips combined for a decent 51-run partnership to provide a foundation for their side.
Fast-bowler Shaheen Shah got the better of Phillips, courtesy of a catch by fielder Haris Rauf, after the batsman scored 31 runs off 20 deliveries.
Faheem, who was having a remarkable day with the ball, removed all-rounder James Neesham (2) as New Zealand appeared desperate for a late flourish to put on a decent total.
Scott Kuggeleijn played an interesting knock of 14 runs off six deliveries to bring some momentum into the innings before being removed by Shaheen.
With the Kiwis in trouble, Conway stepped up for his side with a remarkable knock of 63 runs off just 45 deliveries to push his side to a decent score on a tricky wicket. The batsman was removed in the last over of the innings by Rauf but his blistering knock propelled his side to 173 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their allotted overs.
Faheem was the pick of the bowlers for the Men in Green after taking three wickets in four overs at the expense of 20 runs.
Rizwan was adjudged the man of the match for his outstanding knock with the bat.