New Zealand (163/5) defeat Pakistan (159) by 4 runs in the 3rd T20I - Pakistan lead series by 2-1

[imshally81]

Ifti gone

 

[daytrader]

Misbah vibes

 

[Rana]

I thought you were cheering for NZ

Ive accepted defeat

 

[nextover666666]

Oh ifti what an innings, up to Rauf/ Naseem now.

 

[castortroy]

Good effort

 

[Ahmed216]

Great great knock from Chacha. Full marks for the entertainment

 

[Rana]

Rauf will slap one for 6

 

[Major]

what a fine innings we witnessed by chacha ifti

 

[castortroy]

These Pak tail enders just swing blindly

 

[nextover666666]

Haris Rauf needs to channel his inner Javed Miandad lets gooo

 

[Rana]

Wohoooooooo!!!!!!

 

[Major]

sooo close

 

[daytrader]

what a match, so close!

 

[nextover666666]

What a game of cricket, honestly amazing, shame Ifti was not able to see us home, but what an effort by him, and Faheem Ashraf. Naseem should be benched, should bring in Zaman khan or Ihshanullah

 

[Smbhayi]

Good last 3 balls by Neesham, slower balls done the trick..

 

[MenInG]

 

[Savak]

Faheem and Iftikhar should have closed the game. Have seen Dhoni and ABD win so many games like this some even off the last ball. Pakistani players always falter at the end when they get close

 

[Rana]

These Pak tail enders just swing blindly

Isn’t that what tailenders do though?

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Faheem and Iftikhar should have closed the game. Have seen Dhoni and ABD win so many games like this some even off the last ball. Pakistani players always falter at the end when they get close

Yes but what about those 6 batters before them who made it 90-7 in 13 overs?

 

[Smudger]

Faheem and Iftikhar should have closed the game. Have seen Dhoni and ABD win so many games like this some even off the last ball. Pakistani players always falter at the end when they get close

Can you quote an any game at international level?
72 needed in 5
47 needed in 3 with 3 wickets remaining.
Dhoni has lost plenty of games from winning positions too

 

[asadee]

If this was a WC game we would have closed it. Tournament team

 

[Rana]

If this was a WC game we would have closed it. Tournament team

Like we did against Zimbabwe?

 

[Major]

Faheem and Iftikhar should have closed the game. Have seen Dhoni and ABD win so many games like this some even off the last ball. Pakistani players always falter at the end when they get close

70 runs needed in 5 overs? plz do tell us when did dhoni and abd did it at no.8 annd no.9?

 

[shamaan]

Shadab is batting like a tailender

 

[Ami]

Iftikhar is pure cult!
and finally...Faheem Ashraf delivering it with bat.
(I know Pakistan lost, that's besides the point).
But, well done the dynamic duo.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Clean hitting. Using his long levers very effectively. Needed someone else to step up to put a finishing touch. Neverthless a good knock when all was lost.

 

[ads101]

Congrats NZ. Good thing we are playing our strongest team I guess. Shows how valuable it is to have someone score up top. Latham didn't even play quick, 64 at SR 130. Rescuing the innings when early wickets fall is far harder. Disappointing that Rizwan and Babar didn't perform, but the best thing about them is they consistently score, pretty much every other game hence their averages. They'll probably be back in the runs next game.

Seen enough of Fakhar in middle order honestly, even when he sometimes scores it doesn't look good. Let him open or drop him. I thought he could do something middle order, but he looks even worse. I'd love to give him a chance opening based on his PSL, but if that isn't happening, just move on from him. At the very least let Saim bat at 3.

If Iftikhar is batting in the team, he should be playing above Shadab, Imad, Fakhar, Shaheen. Bat him as high up as you can. He's not a slogger batsman like Asif Ali who you can comfortably stick at 7. Imad should be batting above Shadab too.

 

[Energy]

Yet another match where the team has shown it doesn't have any backbone if Babar or Rizwan doesn't score 60 to 70% of all the runs.

Disappointing. But expected.

 

[Kianig89]

So the school team of NZ defeated Pakistan

 

[MenInG]

Highlights of the game

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Dy2dAME7voM" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[MenInG]

New Zealand overcame Iftikhar Ahmed’s blistering innings to win the third T20I by four runs in front of an almost full capacity Gaddafi Stadium on Monday evening. This was the Kiwis’ first win in the T20I series which also kept them alive in the five-match series, as the previous two matches were won by the hosts at the same venue by 88 runs and 38 runs, respectively.

Both sides will now travel to Rawalpindi to play the remaining two T20Is of the series scheduled on 20 and 24 April, respectively.

Chasing 164 to win, the home side didn’t have a good start as they lost seven wickets inside 15 overs with 88 runs on the board. Right-handed Iftikhar was joined by left-handed Faheem Ashraf and the pair went on to add 61 runs off just 26 balls.

With 72 runs required from the last five overs at the required run-rate of 14.40, Iftikhar and Faheem took the charge to the Kiwis’ bowlers and collected 16 runs from the 16th over. The 18th over of the innings – the most expensive over of the innings brought 23 runs for the side, where three sixes and a four was struck off Adam Milne’s over as the fast bowler ended-up with match figures of 4-0-37-2.

Only eight runs came off the 19th over of the innings in which the tourists got a prized scalp of Faheem, who got out for 27 off 14 balls, striking two sixes and as many fours.

With 15 runs required in the final over to win the match and two wickets in hand, Iftikhar struck Jimmy Neesham for a six on the first ball and then for a four on the third ball to bring down the equation to five off three balls, but Neesham kept his cool and took Iftikhar’s wicket on the fourth ball and then Haris Rauf off the last ball to give New Zealand a four-run win.

Iftikhar’s innings included six towering sixes and three fours, as he scored 60 off just 24 balls.

For the winning team, Neesham took three wickets for 38 in four overs.

Earlier, after opting to bat first, Tom Latham played a captain’s innings as the left-handed opening batter top-scored for his side with a 49-ball 64, which included seven fours and two sixes. Daryl Michell was the other notable contributor with the bat, scoring 33 off 26 balls, hitting two fours and a six.

For Pakistan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf bagged two wickets apiece.

Scores in brief:

New Zealand beat Pakistan by four runs

New Zealand 163-5, 20 overs (Tom Latham 64, Daryll Mitchell 33; Haris Rauf 2-31, Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-33)

Pakistan 159 all out, 20 overs (Iftikhar Ahmed 60, Faheem Ashraf 27; Jimmy Neesham 3-38, Rachin Ravindra 2-28, Adam Milne 2-37)

Player of the match – Tom Latham (New Zealand)

 

[Rana]

So the school team of NZ defeated Pakistan

So embarrassing

 

[jnaveen1980]

So the school team of NZ defeated Pakistan

This may not be a well-gelled NZ outfit. It still has a few good players.