Pakistan managed to avoid a complete loss in the T20I series against New Zealand by winning the final match in Christchurch, ending with a 4-1 result. Even though they faced tough losses in the first four games, the Green Shirts bounced back in the last one.
One of the heroes of this turnaround was part-time off-spinner Iftikhar Ahmed, who had a fantastic game, getting his best-ever figures of 3-24. New Zealand’s batting struggled against the turning ball, leading to their eighth lowest T20 total. Only Finn Allen (22) and Glenn Phillips (26) managed to score more than 20 runs. Pakistan’s bowlers shone brightly in this match, taking the last eight wickets for just 39 runs.
Left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz played a key role with figures of 2-18, dismissing Rachin Ravindra and Will Young early on. Captain Shaheen Shah Afridi, concluding his first series in charge, also contributed with 2-20. New Zealand faced the challenge without three key batters—Kane Williamson (knee injury), Devon Conway (Covid-19), and Daryl Mitchell (rested).
At the beginning, it seemed New Zealand would sweep the series by restricting Pakistan’s batters with disciplined bowling. Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, and Ish Sodhi each took two wickets. Southee, the leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket, made an impact early on, dismissing debutant Haseebullah Khan in the opening over and later removing the dangerous Fakhar Zaman in the 13th over. Mohammad Rizwan, the top-scorer for Pakistan, departed for 38 off 38, resulting in the lowest first-innings score by either team in the series. Despite this, Pakistan’s determined performance secured them a win in the final match.
