CHRISTCHURCH: Mohammad Nawaz shone with a match-winning effort of an unbeaten 38-run knock while Haider Ali blasted a quick 31 off 15 to help Pakistan defeat New Zealand by five wickets in the final to clinch the T20I tri-series, here on Friday.
Set to chase 164, Nawaz and Haider stormed through the blackcaps bowlers in the latter half of the innings and put Green Shirts into a comfortable position after they were down to 74/3 in the 12th over.
Nawaz smashed two fours and three sixes during his blistering knock of 38 off 22 while the right-handed Haider thwacked three fours and two sixes to significantly reduce the asking rate before he departed in the 16th over.
Iftikhar Ahmed (25*) joined hands with Nawaz when Asif Ali went back after facing just two balls and the pair then took their side over the finishing line in the final over with three balls to spare.
The reliable opening pair Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were tested greatly by the New Zealand bowling attack, who bowled tightly in the powerplay and did not offer too many opportunities to score runs.
Michael Bracewell provided the hosts with the breakthrough as he dismissed skipper Babar on 15 off 14 in the fifth over and also sent No 3 batter Shan Masood back to the pavilion in the 11th over after the left-hander played an unsettling knock of 19 off 21.
Rizwan, on the other hand, scored 34 off 29, before he was plumbed by leg-spinner Ish Sodhi while trying to attempt a slog-sweep.
Nawaz then joined hands with Haider to build a valiant 56-run partnership for the fifth wicket
Earlier, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson starred with a scintillating half-century amid sensational bowling by Pakistan in the later half of the innings to restrict the Blackcaps to 163/7 in the allotted 20 overs.
New Zealand went for an aggressive start after they were put to bat, hoisting 51 runs in the powerplay for the loss of both the openers, Fin Allen and Devon Conway on 12 and 14, respectively.
Glenn Phillips and skipper Williamson combined excellently for the fourth wicket stand of 50 runs and took the scoreboard to 97/2 in 11.2 overs before Mohammad Nawaz dislodged the strong-looking partnership. Phillips scored 29 off 22 before he walked back.
Pakistan bowled on tight lines and lengths in the death overs as they took four scalps and offered just 29 runs in the last 27 balls of the innings.
Williamson top-scored for his side with an astounding knock of 59 off 38, laced with six boundaries including two sixes before he was dismissed by Shadab Khan in the 16th over.
For Pakistan, Haris Rauf starred with the bowl as he returned splendid figures of 2/22 while Naseem also picked two wickets but he went for 38 runs in his four overs quota. Shadab and Nawaz also took pocketed a wicket each.
