In the final T20I of the series, New Zealand comfortably chased down a target of 129 in just 10 overs to win.
With outstanding bowling, James Neesham, the pace-bowling all-rounder, restricted Pakistan with a brilliant performance. Batting-wise, opener Tim Seifert unleashed a destructive knock. New Zealand finished the series with a big win.
After securing the series earlier, New Zealand clinched their fifth T20I victory by 8 wickets. In Wellington on Wednesday, they surpassed Pakistan’s score of 128 in just 10 overs.
Despite missing regular captain Mitchell Santner and several key players, New Zealand triumphed 4-1 in the five-match series.
Pakistan, which started the T20I series fresh, without Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, faced a heavy defeat.
In the final match, Neesham laid the foundation for New Zealand’s victory. As the fifth bowler, he took career-best figures of 5 wickets for 22 runs in 4 overs. At 34, Neesham became the fourth New Zealand bowler to take five wickets in this format.
Seifert finished unbeaten on 97 off 38 balls, hitting 10 sixes and 6 fours, bringing an end to the match with three consecutive sixes.
Along with Finn Allen, Seifert helped New Zealand score a massive 92 runs in the first 6 overs without losing a wicket—New Zealand’s highest Powerplay score. Their previous best was 86 in 2018 against West Indies.
Pakistan made five changes to their lineup for this match. Batting first after losing the toss, they consistently lost wickets early.
In the second over, Jacob Duffy dismissed debutant Hassan Nawaz, who had scores of 0, 0, 105*, 1, and 0 in the series.
Mohammad Haris, the other opener, played 17 balls for just 11 runs. Omair Yusuf, given a chance for the first time in the series, was dismissed for 7. Pakistan had lost 3 wickets for just 27 runs in the Powerplay.
Usman Khan and Abdul Samad also failed to reach double figures. Neesham began his wicket-taking spree by dismissing Samad on just his second delivery.
After losing 5 wickets for 52 runs, Pakistan’s best partnership came between captain Salman Ali Aga and Shadab Khan. They added 54 runs off 35 balls for the sixth wicket.
Neesham broke the partnership by dismissing Shadab for 28 off 20 balls. In the same over, he sent Jahanzaib Khan back.
Salman reached a fifty off 37 balls before being dismissed by Neesham for 51 off 39 balls. Neesham completed his five-wicket haul by removing Sufyan Mukim in his final over.
In this match, Duffy finished with 13 wickets in the series, taking 2 wickets in this game as well.
Chasing the small target, Seifert was unstoppable, hitting two sixes and a four in the first over. In the next over, Allen smashed two fours and a six.
After hitting a six and a four off Haris Rauf, Seifert continued his onslaught in the final over of the Powerplay, hitting Jahanzaib Khan for three sixes and a four, adding 25 runs in that over.
The partnership between Seifert and Allen was broken when Mukim dismissed Allen (27 off 12 balls), but Seifert continued to dominate. In the following over, he hit Shadab Khan for a six on both the first and last balls, sealing the victory. If the opponent had scored a few more runs, Seifert might have completed his first career century.
Match Summary
- Pakistan: 128/9 in 20 overs (Haris 11, Nawaz 0, Yusuf 7, Salman 51, Usman 7, Samad 4, Shadab 28, Jahanzaib 1, Rauf 6*, Mukim 0, Ali 0*; O’Rourke 4-0-29-0, Duffy 4-0-18-2, Sears 4-0-25-1, Sodhi 4-0-32-1, Neesham 4-0-22-5)
- New Zealand: 131/2 in 10 overs (Seifert 97*, Allen 27, Chapman 3, Mitchell 2*; Jahanzaib 2-0-43-0, Ali 2-0-27-0, Rauf 2-0-22-0, Mukim 2-0-6-2, Shadab 2-0-33-0)
Result: New Zealand won by 8 wickets
Series: New Zealand won the 5-match series 4-1
Man of the Match: James Neesham
Man of the Series: Tim Seifert
