As the hosts take on the Kiwis in the third game of a five-match T20I series today (Monday), Pakistan will be aiming for the series victory. Pakistan has a 2-0 series advantage. The game today will begin at 9:30.
Five T20Is and an equal number of ODIs must be played by the Kiwis, captained by Tom Latham, against Pakistan. In the second T20I match on Saturday night at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan defeated New Zealand by a score of 38 runs thanks to Babar Azam’s third century and another four-wicket performance by Haris Rauf.
Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam, who chose to bat first, gave the team a strong 99-run start to the game after choosing to bat first. Rizwan reached his 24th half-century in this format off 29 balls, striking seven fours and a six. He was the first player to be taken out of the game in the 11th over thanks to Daryl Mitchell’s catch off Matt Henry, who had three wickets in the previous match.
When Henry sent Fakhar Zaman back to the hut the very next ball, he was on track to complete another hat-trick. However, Saim Ayub, a left-handed bowler, stopped the final ball of the 11th over to prevent Henry from completing another hat-trick. Saim, though, was out for no runs in the following over (11.5) and was dismissed. Imad Wasim, an all-rounder, was dismissed early (2 off 5) with the home team in serious trouble at 105 for 4 after 12.5 overs.
Iftikhar Ahmed joined captain and player of the match Babar at that key point in the innings, and the two continued to score runs at will. Iftikhar scored an unbeaten 33 off 19 balls, striking one four and three sixes, as part of the pair’s unbroken 87 runs for the fifth wicket off 43 balls.
The game’s highlight, though, was Babar, who not only reached his third T20I century but also made history by being the first skipper to record three centuries in this format. Babar also scored his second century in a T20I at home; his previous century was against England in Karachi seven months prior.
Babar’s strokeplay as the third-ranked ICC T20I hitter reached his half-century in 36 balls and peppered it with six fours was greatly appreciated by the nearly capacity Lahore audience. The remaining 51 runs were eventually scored by him off just 22 balls, and he finished the innings unbeaten with 101 runs off 58 balls, hitting seven fours and one six.
The batsman, who was born in Lahore, scored two boundaries in as many balls to finish off his third century, which required seven runs off the final two balls of the innings.As a result, Pakistan scored 192 for 4, which is the second-highest total in Gaddafi Stadium history.
Henry finished with two for 29 in four overs for New Zealand. In exchange, the tourists needed to score 193 in order to win at the necessary run rate of 9.65. The Kiwis only managed to score 43 runs during the batting powerplay despite not losing a single wicket. The tourists never recovered to chase down the target after losing their skipper Tom Latham in the seventh over for a 20-ball 19, and they continued to lose wickets often.
Chad Bowes, Latham’s opening partner, scored 26 points from 24 total attempts, including three fours. Mark Chapman’s undefeated innings of 65 off 40 balls, striking four fours and as many sixes, was a major factor in the Kiwis’ ability to score 154 for seven in their allowed 20 overs.
Haris Rauf, a right-arm fast bowler for Pakistan, once more shone as he grabbed consecutive four-wicket hauls, capturing four wickets and allowing only 27 runs from his four overs. Haris grabbed four wickets for 18 runs in 3.3 overs in the opening T20I.
