On Monday, New Zealand finally managed to defeat Pakistan by a narrow margin of four runs. New Zealand lost the previous 2 matches out of 5 match series.
This was the third of the five-game T20I series which took place at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
New Zealand decided to bat first after winning the toss. Their decision proved fruitful for the team. NZ was able to score a total of 163 runs at the cost of five wickets in their allotted 20 overs.
Skipper Tom Latham led the charge. He scored a half-century. In response, Pakistan could only manage to score 159 runs in 20 overs, losing all their wickets and failing to meet the target that required 4 more runs only.
The highest scorer for Pakistan was Iftikhar Ahmed. Iftikhar smashed 60 runs off just 24 balls, including three boundaries and six sixes. However, his efforts were not enough to get his team over the line but he succeeded to take twitter by storm.
Currently, Pakistan is leading the series 2-1 with back-to-back victories over New Zealand in the first and second T20Is, winning by 88 and 38 runs, respectively. New Zealand, on the other hand, must win all three remaining T20 matches to win the series.
Interestingly, the outcome of the games in this series may be significantly influenced by the toss. The team that wins the toss typically chooses to bat first at this venue and can effectively defend their score, as seen in recent matches.
As the series progresses, the pressure will only increase on both sides, and it will be interesting to see which team comes out on top in the upcoming matches.
