A superb spell from Shaheen Shah Afridi and a solid performance from Pakistan’s top five was enough to see them to a victory which sealed the T20I series over New Zealand, leading 2-0 with a game to play.
After choosing to bat first, New Zealand were given a rapid start by Colin Munro, who smashed 44 off just 28 balls. His belligerence made up for the struggles of Glenn Phillips at the other end. By the time he edged behind to the penultimate ball of the Powerplay, New Zealand had 50, and he had just 5 off 12.
Munro fell soon after, advancing down the track and only managing an inside edge as Mohammad Hafeez pulled his length back. Sarfraz Ahmed gathered the ball and stumped him easily. When Colin de Grandhomme and Ross Taylor both fell for single figures – the former holing out to long-on off Imad Wasim, and the latter run out by a swift run in, gather, and throw by Asif Ali as he came back for the second – New Zealand were struggling at 83/4, and Pakistan’s squeeze through spin was well underway.
The Kiwi captain, Kane Williamson, was still there; he just needed someone to stick with him, and he found a willing ally in Corey Anderson. Together they added 42 sensible runs, and when Williamson fell to the first ball of Shaheen’s third over, timing a leg-stump half volley too well and straight into the hands of deep backward square leg, New Zealand were set for a big finish, Anderson having smashed the previous three balls for two fours and a six.
But despite Anderson and Tim Seifert taking 16 off the penultimate over, and Seifert scooping the first ball of the 20th for six, Shaheen reeled them in. He conceded one run from the last five balls of the 18th, and five from the last five of the last, in which time Seifert holed out to long-on and Tim Southee was run out getting Anderson back on strike. The 18-year-old finished with stellar figures of 3/20.
New Zealand still ended with 153/7, and with Pakistan having only chased 150-plus targets on one occasion out of seven in the UAE, the game was set up intriguingly.
For a time however, it seemed Pakistan would do it easily. Though Fakhar Zaman fell for 24 to a stunning catch by Williamson at mid-off, he had already given his side a fast start, and Babar Azam and Asif Ali built on it sensibly. The former is the No.1 ranked batsman in the ICC MRF Tyres T20I rankings, and he showed all the calmness and consistency that had got him to that position.
The pair steered Pakistan to 96/1, but when Babar fell, mis-timing a Southee slower ball to mid-off, the game turned, and after two tight overs Pakistan needed 50 off the last five.
A huge six from Asif off Munro looked to have alleviated the pressure, only for the big hitter to miss a full toss and be LBW the next ball. With two new batsmen in, and 10 an over still required, New Zealand were perhaps marginal favourites.
Instead, the cool, experienced heads of Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik released the tension. Two Hafeez sixes in three balls sucked the wind right out of the Blackcaps’ sails, and though he almost fell to the next ball, striking just short of Phillips at midwicket, another six, this time from Shoaib, in the next over was another sucker-punch to the Kiwis.
Pakistan needed 14 from 12, and the game was as good as done. Eight off the next seven kept New Zealand theoretically in it, and it felt more than theoretical when Shoaib holed out on the second ball of the last over, bowled by Adam Milne.
But Hafeez kept his cool, pinching two and then striking four to seal victory with six wickets and two balls remaining.
