James Neesham’s five-wicket haul, followed by Tim Seifert’s swashbuckling half-century gave New Zealand a commanding nine-wicket victory in the final T20I of the five-match series against Pakistan at the Sky Stadium on Wednesday.
Set to chase a modest 129, the home side comfortably knocked the winning runs for the loss of just two wickets and 60 balls to spare, courtesy of a blazing opening stand between Seifert and Finn Allen.
The duo added a quickfire 93 runs until Allen was dismissed by Sufiyan Muqeem in the seventh over. He scored 27 off 12 deliveries with the help of five fours and a six.
Muqeem caused a stir in New Zealand’s run chase by getting in-form Mark Chapman stumped in his next over.
However, Seifert continued his onslaught and steered New Zealand over the line with an unbeaten 87 off 38 deliveries, studded with six fours and 10 sixes.
He was also involved in a one-side 28-run partnership with Daryl Mitchell, who scored two not out.
For Pakistan, Sufiyan Muqeem was the solitary wicket-taker, making two scalps for just six runs in his two overs.
New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell’s decision to put Pakistan into bat paid dividends as the touring side could register a modest total on the board despite Salman Ali Agha’s half-century.
The visitors got off to an unwanted start as they lost hard-hitting opener Hasan Nawaz (0) in the second over with just five runs on the board.
Following the early hiccup, Omair Bin Yousuf joined Mohammad Haris in the middle for a brief 18-run stand, which was followed by their back-to-back dismissals.
Haris scored 11 off 17 deliveries with the help of two boundaries, while Yousuf made seven.
The green shirts then lost two more wickets in quick succession as Usman Khan (seven) and Abdul Samad (four) perished cheaply.
Their dismissals had reduced Pakistan to 52/5 in 10.2 overs until skipper Agha and experienced all-rounder Shadab recorded an anchoring partnership.
The duo added an important 54 runs for the sixth wicket until Shadab was removed by James Neesham on the first delivery of the 17th over.
The all-rounder scored 28 off 20 deliveries with the help of five boundaries.
Neesham inflicted another blow on the visitors as he sent Jahandad Khan back in the same over as Pakistan slipped further to 108/7 in 16.4 overs.
Agha also fell victim to Neesham in the penultimate over and walked back after top-scoring for Pakistan with a 39-ball 51, comprised of six fours and a six.
Neesham was the standout bowler for New Zealand, taking five wickets for just 22 runs in his four overs, followed by Duffy with two, while Ish Sodhi and Ben Sears chipped in with one scalp apiece.
