New Zealand Take Fourth Straight Victory Over Pakistan

New Zealand has taken a fourth straight victory after 70s from both Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips.

New Zealand won the toss for the first time in the series and sent Pakistan in to bat first.

Matt Henry struck in the second over with the wicket of Saim Ayub for one. Daryl Mitchell grabbed the catch at slip on a second attempt.

Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam showed their true talent through a 50-run stand for the second wicket. They brought it up in 29 balls with Rizwan making 31 of the runs.

However, Adam Milne struck in his 50th T20I with the massive wicket of Azam for 19.

Fakhar Zaman tried his best to get going, but the only shot he was able to time was sent straight to Chapman in the deep for nine. Lockie Ferguson getting the wicket.

Sahibzada Farhan fell to Ferguson on the last ball of the over to leave Pakistan at 86/4 after 13 overs.

Iftikhar Ahmed and Rizwan got Pakistan well past the 100-run mark in their stand and set them up with the ability for a strong finish.

Henry struck in the eighteenth over with the wicket of Ahmed for 10.

This brought Muhammad Nawaz to the middle and he showed some real firepower taking three sixes in a row off Milne to propel Pakistan past the 150-run mark before the last over.

Tim Southee bowled a superb final over to restrict Pakistan to 158/5 from their 20 overs. Rizwan finished on 90* and Nawaz on 21*.

Finn Allen got New Zealand off to a fast start with the bat as he struck two fours in the first three balls. However, the Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi got the massive wicket of Allen for eight.

He then had Seifert on the last ball of the first over for a golden duck and Aotearoa in trouble at 10/2.

Afridi then had a third wicket in his second over as Will Young went for four to leave his side at 20/3.

Glenn Phillips and Daryl put on a mammoth total for the third wicket in an unbeaten 139-run stand for the fourth wicket. 

Both batters made 50s with Phillips getting his 10th T20I 50 and Mitchell his 7th. 

With the game heading in New Zealand’s direction both players attacked near the end with the last overs going for 11, 15, and 15 runs. 

New Zealand took a seven-wicket win with Mitchell finishing 72* and Phillips on 70*.