Pakistan shocked New Zealand in the third T20I in Auckland to remind their board and the world that if and when it comes off, the move to go with the youngsters in T20Is will eventually pay off. After a rough start, the Men in Green found their bearings on a cracking wicket at Eden Park in Auckland and made a mockery of a 200-plus chase, led by opener Hasan Nawaz, who was dismissed cheaply in the first two games and ended up smashing the fastest century by a Pakistan batter in T20Is.
The challenge for Pakistan is now to sustain that level of performance and quality in order to stay alive in the five-match T20 series. Pakistan changed a couple of their options in the bowling department and even though they took wickets, both Abrar Ahmed and Abbas Afridi went for runs. But bowlers can't be at fault as the Kiwi bowlers too went the distance and the tourists will hope for an improved performance as the wicket at the Bay Oval is usually a good one to bat.
New Zealand need a little from their middle order as even though Mark Chapman did well in the last game and the openers have been magnificent through the series, but the likes of Mitch Hay, Jimmy Neesham and Daryl Mitchell need to put up those 10-15-ball cameos to out-bat
My Dream11 team for NZ vs PAK 4th T20I
Tim Seifert (vc), Finn Allen, Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha, Daryl Mitchell, Irfan Khan, Khushdil Shah, Michael Bracewell (c), Shaheen Afridi, Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf, Jacob Duffy
Probable Playing XIs
New Zealand: Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Hay (w), Michael Bracewell (c), Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy, Ben Sears
Pakistan: Mohammad Haris (w), Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha (c), Irfan Khan, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Abdul Samad, Shaheen Afridi, Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf