Mohammad Rizwan’s unbeaten 90 goes in vain as New Zealand beat Pakistan by seven wickets in the fourth T20I at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Friday. This was New Zealand’s fourth win in the five-match series, and they now lead by a margin of 4-0. After being put into bat, Pakistan scored 158 for five in 20 overs courtesy an undefeated 90-run knock from wicketkeeper-batter Rizwan. The Opening batter struck six fours and two sixes during his 63-ball innings. He added a 51-run partnership with Babar Azam (19, 11b, 2x4s, 1×6) and knitted a 40-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Iftikhar Ahmed (10, 14b). Pakistan captain Shaheen Afridi shared his thoughts following his team’s fourth consecutive defeat. “I think the way Rizwan gave us the start, it was very good. Unfortunately, we couldn’t grab the opportunity in middle overs,” Shaheen said in post-match presentation. Captain Shaheen led from the front and struck twice in the first over of the run-chase, and again in the third over to put the hosts in a spot of bother leaving them three for 20 in 2.4 overs. At that stage of the match, Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips got together and stitched an unbroken 139-run partnership for the fourth wicket to help New Zealand achieve the target in 18.1 overs. “I try to take wickets in the first over. I feel 170 was a good total on this pitch and if we had grabbed our chances, we could have won this game,” he added. Mitchell scored an unbeaten 72 off 44 balls, laced with seven fours and two sixes. Right-handed Phillips scored a 52-ball 70, hitting five fours and three sixes. For the losing side, Shaheen ended up with match figures of three for 34 in four overs.
Shaheen Afridi reflects on Pakistan’s fourth consecutive loss against NZ
