New Zealand easily chased down Pakistan’s 164-run target, pummeling the Pakistani pace attack and winning the match, as well as the three-match series 2-0.
Kane Williamson returned to the New Zealand squad in excellent fashion, scoring an impressive 57 runs from 42 balls while Tim Seifert was the pick of the batsmen, scoring 84 runs from 63 balls.
Faheem Ashraf was the only Pakistani bowler to pick up a wicket, when he dismissed Martin Guptill. Since then, there was no looking back for New Zealand who reached the target in the last over, with four balls to spare.
Earlier, the Men in Green had chosen to bat first against New Zealand in the second T20 match of the series on Sunday. Pakistan clash against New Zealand today after losing the first one on Friday.
After hitting a massive six off Tim Southee, Pakistani pinch-hitter Haider Ali departed cheaply. A few deliveries later, Haider was joined by Abdullah Shafique in the pavilion, who was dismissed without scoring a run.
Pakistan skipper Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf both floundered against New Zealand’s pace attack, getting dismissed for 4 runs each before Hafeez took to the crease.
The veteran batsman, often criticised for being too old, let his bat do the talking, hitting New Zealand pacers all over the ground for cheeky fours and handsome sixes.
The green shirts will look to shake off the rust as they take on the Kiwis while the black caps will look to wrap up the series by notching another win today.
The match will be played between the two sides at Seddon Park, Hamilton. The second fixture between Pakistan and New Zealand also marks the return of Kane Williamson to the squad, who had left the series midway after becoming a father.
New Zealand defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the first T20I of the series which was played on Friday.
Pakistan scored 153 runs for nine wickets in 20 overs, leading a fightback after losing quick wickets earlier on during the match while New Zealand made 156 runs for five wickets in 18.5 overs, with seven deliveries to spare.
New Zealand’s debutant Jacob Duffy was declared ‘Man of the Match,’ after he took four wickets for 33, helping his side set up a five-wicket win.
Commenting on the defeat, Pakistan skipper Shadab Khan had said the team could not grab more runs because of a slow-paced game in the beginning.
TEAMS
Pakistan
1 Abdullah Shafique, 2 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 3 Haider Ali, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Shadab Khan (capt), 6 Khushdil Shah, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Shaheen Afridi, 11 Haris Rauf
New Zealand
1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tim Seifert (wk), 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Devon Conway, 5 Glenn Phillips, 6 Jimmy Neesham, 7 Kyle Jamieson, 8 Scott Kuggeleijn 9 Tim Southee, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Ish Sodhi
