New Zealand recorded an emphatic win over Pakistan in the third T20I of the five-match series on January 17, 2024. This match was played in Dunedin and the hosts took a 3-0 lead in the series with a 45-run win.
Pakistan skipper Shaheen Afridi won the toss and asked Pakistan to bat first. And Finn Allen teed off from the start, hammering a brilliant 137 in 62 balls with 5 fours and 16 sixes. Tim Seifert made 31 and Glenn Phillips made 19 as New Zealand posted 224/7 in 20 overs.
Haris Rauf was singled out for special treatment as he gave 60 runs in 4 overs for his two wickets. Finn Allen smashed him for 27 runs in one over with three sixes, two fours, and a single.
Allen’s 137 is the highest score by a New Zealander in a T20 international, surpassing the previous best of 123 set by Brendon McCullum.
Allen also equaled the world record of Afghanistan's Hazratullah Zazai for the most sixes by a batter in a T20I innings-16. The umpires had to call for replacement balls three times after Allen smacked missiles out of the ground.
During the innings break, Finn Allen spoke about his knock and revealed that he had a deal with Haris Rauf before the series began, but he had to break the deal.
“Yes, we had a bit of a deal before the series that he [Rauf] wouldn’t bowl me any bumpers and I wouldn’t hit any back at him. He bowled me a bumper, so all deals were off the table. The six I hit off Rauf towards cow corner was my favorite,” Allen said in mid-innings break.
Allen shared a 135-run partnership with Tim Seifert for the second wicket where the latter played second fiddle with just 31 (23).
“We (him and Seifert) assessed the wicket you know. We thought that strong positions and good cricket shots would give us, sort of, good rewards, and having Tim there, we had a bit of a laugh on the way. It was good fun, yeah,” he added.
In reply, Pakistan managed 179/7 in 20 overs with Babar Azam top-scoring with 58 in 37 balls, and lost by 45 runs. New Zealand has also pocketed the series with a lead of 3-0.
The fourth T20I between New Zealand and Pakistan will be played on January 19 in Christchurch.
(ANI inputs)
