In Auckland, New Zealand, Hasan Nawaz delivered a spectacular performance with an unbeaten 105 runs from just 45 balls, leading Pakistan to a dominant nine-wicket victory over New Zealand in the third Twenty20 international match on Friday. This win allows Pakistan to remain competitive in the ongoing five-match series.
Winning the toss proved advantageous for Pakistan as they opted to bowl first, a strategy that deviated from the course of the previous two matches, both of which were won by New Zealand by nine and five wickets respectively. Nawaz received strong backing in his first century from team captain Salman Ali Agha, who contributed 51 runs from 31 balls in an unbroken partnership tallying 133 runs for the second wicket. Pakistan reached a formidable 207-1, successfully chasing down New Zealand’s total of 204 with a comfortable four overs to spare, marking New Zealand’s most significant T20 loss by wickets.
Interestingly, Nawaz had not scored in the initial two matches. Expressing gratitude for his team’s support, he said, “I failed in the first two games and I thank the team for backing me. When I went out to bat I wanted to score my first international run. After I scored the first run the pressure was released and I wanted to win the game.”
Despite New Zealand’s Mark Chapman making an impressive 94 runs from 44 balls, they were bowled out with only one ball to spare in their 20 overs. Chapman’s innings included 11 fours and four sixes, but lacked adequate support from teammates. The second best scorer for New Zealand was Captain Michael Bracewell who made 31, while Tim Seifert posted 19 runs, including a burst of 16 runs in the second over.
Pakistan’s Haris Rauf shone with the ball, taking 3-29 in a critical mid-innings performance. The strategy by Pakistan’s selectors to continue with Nawaz and Mohammad Haris at the top of the batting order, to adjust to New Zealand conditions, paid off. Their opening partnership resulted in only a single run in each of the prior two matches, but this time they managed a partnership of 75 for the first wicket during the six-over power play.
Haris took charge of the initial momentum, scoring a rapid 41 from 20 balls with four boundaries and three sixes. Two of those sixes came from the first over delivered by Kyle Jamieson, as Pakistan quickly amassed 50 runs in just four overs. While Jamieson had impressed with 3-8 in the first match of the series, he conceded 30 runs in his first two overs this time.
At the halfway point of their innings, Pakistan was at 124-1, surpassing New Zealand’s earlier total of 105-3. The 13th over, bowled by Jacob Duffy, proved pivotal as it gave away 19 runs, including two sixes, pushing Pakistan’s scoring rate beyond 12 runs per over. Nawaz reached his half-century in style from 26 balls, while Salman notched his first T20 international half-century in 30 balls.