Pakistan's unpredictable style of play was at the forefront as they demolished New Zealand by nine wickets, with four overs to spare in the third T20I at the Eden Park in Auckland. Hasan Nawaz scored a blistering unbeaten hundred (105) and guided the visitors to overhaul a target of 205 with utter ease. Such was the assault of the young Pakistani opening batter that the crowds at Eden Park were stunned. Nawaz, who made his T20I debut in the ongoing series, came into the match on back of twin ducks, but in the third T20I, he stamped his authority and showed his class.
Nawaz, attacked from the word go, and did not allow any of the New Zealand bowlers to settle. While some of the opener's shots were ugly, he kept finding boundaries and kept with the required asking rate of 10 runs per over in the run chase. Pakistan also recorded their highest ever power play score in T20I (75/1). Supporting Nawaz at the other end was skipper Salman Ali Agha who scored an unbeaten (51) runs off 31 balls.
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For the hosts, only Jacob Duffy had something to show in the wickets column, as the rest of the bowlers were dispatched to all parts of the ground by Nawaz and Agha. The duo put on an unbroken stand of 133 runs in just 11 overs.
PAK stays alive in the T20 series as Hasan Nawaz's ton enables an easy win
On account of this thumping win, Pakistan are alive in the five-match T20 series. Opting to bowl on the batting-friendly Auckland surface, Pakistan's top three batters - Nawaz, Mohammad Haris, and Agha scored runs at a strike rate above 150. Haris chipped with (44) and was instrumental in getting Pakistan off to a good start in the power play.
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