Finn Allen posts record knock as New Zealand beat Pakistan by 45 runs

Dunedin: Finn Allen scored a record-breaking century to guide New Zealand to a 45-run win over Pakistan at the University Oval in Dunedin. With this win, New Zealand took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match T20I series.

Allen shattered a 12-year-old record held by former captain Brendon McCullum to register the highest individual score in T20I cricket for New Zealand on Wednesday, January 17. His century helped the BlackCaps post 224 for 7 in the first innings before the hosts restricted Pakistan to 179 for 7, winning the third T20I by 45 runs.

Allen went on to finish with 137 from 62 balls to his name the highest score by a Kiwi in men’s T20I internationals, beating Brendon McCullum’s 123 (72) against Bangladesh in Pallekele in 2012. His six-hitting effort matched Hazratullah Zazai’s effort against Ireland in Dehradun in February 2019. Suzie Bates’ 124 against South Africa in 2020 is New Zealand’s best in Women’s T20Is.

New Zealand went on to post 224/7 in 20 overs at the University Oval, with Tim Seifert’s 31 (23) the next best as the 24-year-old stole the show.

Shaheen Afridi may have regretted winning the toss and electing to bowl as the hosts raced to 67/1 in the Powerplay, with Seifert joining Allen after the early departure of Devon Conway, who was claimed by Haris Rauf.

The early breakthrough did little to slow the flow of runs, with Rauf going on to finish with 60 runs to his name even after picking up a second wicket (Mark Chapman for 1).

Mohammad Wasim’s 1/35 (4) was the least expensive of the Pakistan bowlers, with New Zealand tracking at better than ten runs an over for a majority of the innings.

New Zealand passed the 200 marks with an Allen six off the first ball of the 18th over, though when the opener fell to Zaman Khan a ball later, Pakistan did stem the flow of runs, conceding just 13 runs in the final two overs.

After losing the early wicket of opener Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam formed a 39-run stand to get the visitors back in the game. However, despite getting off to a good start, Rizwan couldn’t convert his innings into a big one, falling at the hands of spinner Mitchell Santner in the 8th over, after scoring 24 runs off 20 deliveries.

Babar looked good once against and scored his third successive half-century in this series. However, wickets kept tumbling around him with Fakhar Zaman (19), Azam Khan (10), Iftikhar Ahmed (1), failing to move the scoreboard much.

With the required run-rate climbing, Babar tried to up the ante and lost his wicket at the hands of spinner Ish Sodhi in the 16^th over. He departed after scoring 58 runs off 37 deliveries, hitting eight boundaries and a solitary six.

Mohammad Nawaz and Shaheen Shah Afridi played commendable cameos towards the end of their innings, scoring 28 off 15 and 16 off 11, but couldn’t guide their team over the line. The visitors managed to score 179 for 7 in 20 overs, falling 45 runs short of the target.

With this win, New Zealand sealed the five-match T20I series, having gone 3-0 up. The two side will now lock horns at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Friday, January 19 in the fourth match of the series.