NZ vs PAK, 3rd T20I: Finn Allen century guides New Zealand to 45-run win against Pakistan to seal T20I series
Finn Allen scored a record-breaking century to guide New Zealand to a 45-run win over Pakistan at the University Oval in Dunedin.
With this win, New Zealand took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match T20I series. Allen shattered a 12-year-old record held by former captain Brendon McCullum to register the highest individual score in T20I cricket for New Zealand on Wednesday, January 17. His century helped the BlackCaps post 224 for 7 in the first innings before the hosts restricted Pakistan to 179 for 7, winning the third T20I by 45 runs.
THE FINN ALLEN SHOW
Batting first, New Zealand got off to a positive start before Haris Rauf sent opener Devon Conway back in the fourth over. Then, Allen formed a massive 125-run stand with Tim Tim Siefert, with the wicket-keeping batter contributing with 31 runs before being dismissed by Mohammad Wasim Junior.
Allen continued smashing the Pakistan bowling attack around the ground, bringing up his second T20I century in quick time. He scored 137 runs off 62 deliveries, smashing five boundaries and 16 sixes before being dismissed by Zaman Khan in the 18th over.
Glenn Phillips chipped in with a 15-ball 19 as the hosts ended with 224 for 7 on the scoreboard. Rauf, despite picking two wickets, proved to be very costly, leaking 60 runs in his four overs.
BABAR AZAM CONTINUES GOOD FORM
After losing the early wicket of opener Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam formed a 39-run stand to get the visitors back in the game. However, despite getting off to a good start, Rizwan couldn’t convert his innings into a big one, falling at the hands of spinner Mitchell Santner in the 8th over, after scoring 24 runs off 20 deliveries.
Babar looked good once again and scored his third successive half-century in this series. However, wickets kept tumbling around him with Fakhar Zaman (19), Azam Khan (10) and Iftikhar Ahmed (1) failing to move the scoreboard much.
With the required run-rate climbing, Babar tried to up the ante and lost his wicket at the hands of spinner Ish Sodhi in the 16th over. He departed after scoring 58 runs off 37 deliveries, hitting eight boundaries and a solitary six.
Mohammad Nawaz and Shaheen Shah Afridi played commendable cameos towards the end of their innings, scoring 28 off 15 and 16 off 11, but couldn’t guide their team over the line. The visitors managed to score 179 for 7 in 20 overs, falling 45 runs short of the target.
With this win, New Zealand sealed the five-match T20I series, having gone 3-0 up. The two sides will now lock horns at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Friday, January 19 in the fourth match of the series.