Pakistan beat New Zealand in 5th T20 to level the series with 2-2

Captain Babar Azam scored a remarkable fifty and leading bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi took four wickets, leading Pakistan to a narrow nine-run victory over New Zealand in the final Twenty20 international in Lahore on Saturday.

Babar’s swift 69 from 44 balls, along with Fakhar Zaman’s 43 from 33 balls, lifted Pakistan to 178-5 at the end of their innings. Shaheen then shined with 4-30, holding New Zealand to 169 with just 4 balls to spare, bringing the series to a 2-2 draw.

Despite the close finish, where Pakistan secured their win in the last over as New Zealand needed 12 runs, with Josh Clarkson remaining unbeaten at 38, it was two run outs during Mohammad Amir’s final over that clinched the victory, much to the jubilation of the packed Gaddafi Stadium.
The series opener was cancelled, and following that, Pakistan and New Zealand each won two matches by the same margin of seven wickets, both played in Rawalpindi.

This series has been an excellent start for both teams as they gear up for the approaching Twenty20 World Cup, scheduled to take place in the United States and the West Indies come June.

Azam mentioned that he utilized various line-ups during the matches to assess the team’s capabilities before the World Cup.

‘Look, throughout the series we experimented with different line-ups because we needed to understand the depth we have,’ Azam explained.

‘While we’ve seen several positive signs, we aren’t going to become self-satisfied. Instead, we will concentrate on developing further, which is vital in international cricket.’

Bracewell expressed his satisfaction with his team finishing on equal footing.

‘A pretty accurate summary of the series, quite content with coming here and getting to grips with these conditions,’ Bracewell remarked, who led New Zealand for the first time.

‘All credit to Pakistan, they performed exceptionally well today.’