Hafeez hits crucial 29-ball 41 as visitors chase down 174 in final T20I
\nnews agency
\nNapier
\nMohammad Rizwan smashed a career-best 89 as Pakistan defeated New Zealand by four wickets on Tuesday to avoid a series sweep after the third Twenty20 international in Napier.
\nPakistan reached New Zealand\u2019s target with two balls to spare, ending on 177 after Iftikhar Ahmed sealed the win with a six in the final over.
\nBut it was Rizwan\u2019s 89 from 59 balls, with support from Mohammad Hafeez who scored a quick 41 off 29 deliveries, that provided the inspiration for the victory.
\nThe New Zealanders finished their innings at 173 for seven after losing the toss and being asked to bat, with Devon Conway top-scoring on 63.
\nFaheem Ashraf was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers, taking three for 20.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a decent total compared to where we were at one point,\u201d Conway said earlier.
\n\u201cWe were talking about the 160 mark as somewhere we\u2019d like to get to, and to reach 170-plus is a good total.\u201d
\nEarlier, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl. \u201cWe\u2019re going to bowl first because we\u2019ve changed the team so we have depth in batting, so we want to chase,\u201d said stand-in captain Shadab Khan.
\nShadab had won the toss in the previous two matches of the series, with Pakistan suffering heavy defeats both times.
\nHe said most of his players were unfamiliar with New Zealand conditions.
\n\u201cFor most of them, it\u2019s their first tour in New Zealand and the bounce has affected them,\u201d he said. \u201cHopefully they\u2019ll learn from that and do better.\u201d
\nPakistan brought in Hussain Talat and Iftikhar Ahmed to bolster the batting, along with young fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain.
\nAbdullah Shafique, Imad Wasim and Wahab Riaz were all dropped, with Haider Ali promoted to open the batting in Shafique\u2019s absence.
\nNew Zealand captain Kane Williamson said his team was unchanged from the side that clinched a nine-wicket win in Hamilton on Sunday.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve had a couple of strong performances and it\u2019s important we keep looking to back that up,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a good surface so hopefully we can make use of that first up and get a competitive total.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hafeez hits crucial 29-ball 41 as visitors chase down 174 in final T20I news agency Napier Mohammad Rizwan smashed a career-best 89 as Pakistan defeated New Zealand by four wickets on Tuesday to avoid a series sweep after the third Twenty20 international in Napier. Pakistan reached New Zealand\u2019s target with two balls to spare, ending […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":163744,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-163732","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n