Pakistan have created history in the third T20I against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland. They chased down 205 runs in just 16 overs, with nine wickets in hand as Hassan Nawaz smashed a fastest century for Pakistan in T20I history even as skipper Salman Ali Agha also did well to score an unbeaten 51 off just 31 deliveries.
The faith in Nawaz finally paid off the visitors as they backed him to come good despite bagging ducks in the first two matches of the series. He smashed an unbeaten 105 off just 45 deliveries with 10 fours and seven sixes as Pakistan broke the 18-year-old record of South Africa of being the fastest to chase down a 200+ target in the shortest format of the game.
In September 2007, South Africa chased 208 runs in 17.4 overs with eight wickets in hand. 18 years later, Pakistan have broken their record chasing down 205 runs in just 16 overs with nine wickets in hand. Meanwhile, Pakistan have also become the only team to chase down the 200+ target three times with nine or more wickets in hand.
As far as the match is concerned, after opting to bowl first, Pakistan conceded 204 runs, bundling New Zealand out in 19.5 overs. Mark Chapman was the star for them, smashing 94 runs off just 44 balls with 11 fours and four sixes to his name. The Kiwis were on course for a total of over 230 runs at one stage. But their bowlers did well to pull things back even as Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf stepped up picking two and three wickets respectively. Abbas Afridi also did well to finish with figures of 2/24 in his 2.5 overs.