New Zealand and Pakistan continued the ongoing T20I series by locking horns in the fourth T20I of the series. Both sides faced off at the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, on March 23. The clash began with New Zealand coming in to bat first.
The side opened their innings with Tim Seifert and Finn Allen coming out to bat. Both batters put in a good performance, scoring 44 and 50 runs, respectively. Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell amassed 24 and 29 runs, respectively, as well.
Furthermore, Michael Bracewell’s late push of 46* runs in 26 deliveries helped New Zealand post a total of 220 runs in the first innings of the game. As for Pakistan, Haris Rauf was the highest wicket-taker with three wickets to his name. Abrar Ahmed took two wickets as well, with Abbas Afridi striking once.
Aiming to chase down the target, Pakistan hoped for a repeat of the previous game; however, the Black Caps came prepared this time. Pakistan opened their innings with Mohammad Haris and Hasan Nawaz coming out to bat. Both openers departed quite early after scoring two and one runs, respectively.
Furthermore, Salman Agha departed on a score of one run as well. After the horrid start to the run chase, Irfan Khan aimed at stabilising the innings, but he too only managed to score 24 runs before departing. Pakistan’s horrid time with the bat continued after Shadab Khan and Khushdil Shah departed on one and six runs, respectively.
Abdul Samad proved to be Pakistan’s highest run getter in the second innings, scoring 44 runs in 30 deliveries. However, none of the other batters amounted to much. Thanks to New Zealand’s excellent performance with the ball, Pakistan were bundled out for just 105 runs in the first innings of the game, defeating the Men in Green by 115 runs.
Jacob Duffy was the highest wicket-taker for New Zealand in the second innings; Zakary Foulkes took three wickets, with Will O’Rourke, James Neesham, and Ish Sodhi striking once each. The win meant that New Zealand clinched the series 3-1, and with the fifth and final T20I approaching, the Black Caps will hope for another good performance.