Christchurch (Web Desk): New Zealand defeated Pakistan by seven wickets in fourth T-20 international of five-match series in Christchurch on Friday.
New Zealand won the toss and decided to filed first against Pakistan.
Batting first, Pakistan scored 158 runs for the loss of five wickets in allotted 20 overs.
In reply, New Zealand achieved the target in 18.1 overs for the loss of three wickets.
Black Caps pair Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips scored unbeaten half-centuries.
Mitchell scored 72 off 44 balls and Phillips 70 off 52, accelerating over the closing stages to complete victory with 11 balls to spare.
Pace bowler Afridi had Pakistan right in the contest when he knocked over Finn Allen, Tim Seifert and Will Young cheaply and finished with figures of 3-34.
However, Mitchell and Phillips gradually pulled momentum back in New Zealand’s favour and Pakistan potentially blew their last chance at victory when Sahibzada Farhan dropped a straightforward chance in the deep offered by Mitchell in the 14th over.
From Pakistan side, Mohammad Rizwan played a brilliant game and scored an unbeaten 90 runs in 63 balls with the help of six fours and two sixes.
Opener Saeem Ayub scored just one run in 1.5 overs and was caught out by Daryl Mitchell off Matt Henry. Caught.
Fakhar Zaman scored 9 runs and got out by catching Mark Chapman off the ball of Lockie Ferguson, while Sahibzada Farhan was also caught out by scoring only one and Iftikhar Ahmed could score only.10 runs.
For New Zealand, Matt Henry took two wickets for 22 runs and Lockie Ferguson also grabbed two wickets for 27 runs.
Pakistan made one change in the fourth T20 match against New Zealand as Sahibzada Farhan has been included in the team replacing wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan.
New Zealand’s Chad Bose replaced opener Dion Conway who skipped today’s game due to positive corona test.
Following today’s victory, New Zealand have taken an insurmountable 4-0 lead in the five-match series by defeating Pakistan in the first four matches.
The last match of the series is also scheduled in Christchurch on Sunday.
Teams:
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner(capt), Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Sahibzada Farhan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi(capt), Mohammad Wasim, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan
