New Zealand won the toss and chose to bowl first against Pakistan in the fifth and final T20I of the series on Wednesday at the Sky Stadium.
New Zealand won the last T20I of the five-match series against Pakistan by nine wickets, thanks to James Neesham’s five-wicket haul and Tim Seifert’s swashbuckling half-century at the Sky Stadium.
Set to chase a modest 129, the home team easily won with only two wickets and 60 balls to spare, thanks to a blistering opening partnership between Seifert and Finn Allen.
The pair quickly scored 93 runs before Allen was bowled by Sufiyan Muqeem in the seventh over. He scored 27 runs off 12 deliveries, including five fours and a six.
Muqeem sparked a commotion in New Zealand’s run chase by stumping the in-form Mark Chapman in his following over.
However, Seifert maintained his attack, leading New Zealand to victory with an unbroken 87 off 38 deliveries, including six fours and ten sixes.
He also had a one-sided 28-run partnership with Daryl Mitchell, who scored two not out.
Sufiyan Muqeem was Pakistan’s only wicket-taker, with two wickets for six runs in two overs.
New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell’s choice to bat first paid well, as the visiting team managed to score a modest total despite Salman Ali Agha’s half-century.
The visitors got off to a bad 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 short 18-run stand before being dismissed back-to-back.
Haris scored 11 runs off 17 deliveries, including two boundaries, while Yousuf made seven.
The green shirts then lost two more wickets in short succession, with Usman Khan (seven) and Abdul Samad (four) falling cheaply.
Their dismissals had reduced Pakistan to 52/5 in 10.2 overs, but captain Agha and seasoned all-rounder Shadab formed an anchoring connection.
The pair scored 54 runs for the sixth wicket before Shadab was bowled by James Neesham on the first ball of the 17th over.
The all-rounder hit 28 runs off 20 deliveries, including five boundaries.
Agha was also dismissed by Neesham in the last over after leading Pakistan with a 39-ball 51 that included six fours and a six.
Neesham was the star bowler for New Zealand, taking five wickets for 22 runs in four overs, followed by Duffy with two, and Ish Sodhi and Ben Sears with one wicket each.
