CHRISTCHURCH
\nSkipper Shaheen Shah Afridi is relieved as Pakistan win the \u201cvery important\u201d final Twenty20I of the five-match series against New Zealand avoiding a whitewash series loss. The Black Caps capitulated for 92 in the face of some quality Pakistan spin bowling, having been favoured to chase down the tourists\u2019 134-8. The hosts lost the match by 42 runs.
\nPakistan lost the five-match series 4-1 but Shaheen was pleased his first stint as captain had ended on a winning note, after being outplayed through the first four games.
\nHe said the series was primarily seen as a chance to build towards the T20 World Cup in June but it would have been a setback to lose five from five. \u201cToday\u2019s game was very important for us. We needed that as a unit to step forward,\u201d Shaheen said.
\n\u201cIn the first four games, there were a lot of collapses, as a fielding unit, as a batting unit, but I think today we played as a team and we needed that win.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s not easy for any team to come here. And I think our mind is on the World Cup. We\u2019re just checking out every spot for every player and giving chances to youngsters.\u201d
\nPart-time off-spinner Iftikhar Ahmed was handed the ball for the first time in the series and produced career-best figures of 3-24 against a weakened New Zealand batting lineup, who scored their second-lowest T20 total on home soil.
\nOnly opener Finn Allen (22) and Glenn Phillips (26) passed 20 as Pakistan claimed the last eight wickets for 39 runs.
\nLeft-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz (2-18) was effective with the new ball, while Shaheen claimed 2-20.
\nNew Zealand were missing three of their first-choice batters: Kane Williamson (knee injury), Devon Conway (Covid-19) and Daryl Mitchell (rested).
\nCaptain Mitchell Santner said their poor chase exposed some chinks.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve looked pretty good batting first and defending but, looking at today, we may need a bit of work chasing,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cIn a chase like that, we talk about taking it as deep as we can and we didn\u2019t do that.
\n\u201cBut all in all a pretty good series. There were good signs, different guys stepping up at different times and that\u2019s what you want.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CHRISTCHURCH Skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi is relieved as Pakistan win the \u201cvery important\u201d final Twenty20I of the five-match series against New Zealand avoiding a whitewash series loss. The Black Caps capitulated for 92 in the face of some quality Pakistan spin bowling, having been favoured to chase down the tourists\u2019 134-8. The hosts lost the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-382181","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n