NZ vs PAK 2025, 4th T20I Review: Allen, pacers annihilate Pakistan to register massive win for New Zealand

New Zealand and Pakistan met each other in the fourth T20I of the five-match series at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui on Sunday, March 23. The visitors won the toss and elected to chase under lights.

The New Zealand openers got off to a rapid start after failing in the last match. Tim Seifert and Finn Allen attacked Shaheen Afridi and Khushdil Shah to reach 50 in just 3.5 overs. Seifert (44 off 22), however, could not go on after a short while as he was scalped by Haris Rauf. Allen and Mark Chapman carried on in the same vein, forming a 49-run partnership for the second wicket. The latter, however, could not score big as he was dismissed for 24 runs off 16 balls with Rauf striking again.

Allen reached his fifty in 19 balls but was out off the very next ball by Abbas Afridi. The Kiwis were 134/3 in 10.1 overs at this stage. Daryl Mitchell (29 off 23) and Michael Bracewell (46* off 26) took care of the run scoring in the latter half of the innings. Mitchell was dismissed by Rauf as the Pakistani pacer turned out to be the best bowler for the visitors on the night. New Zealand finished the innings on 220/6 as Rauf (3/27), Abrar Ahmed (2/41), and Abbas Afridi (1/38) were the wicket-takers for Pakistan.

The visitors' chase began on a sour note as wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris (2 off 2) was out to an unplayable delivery from Will O'Rourke that jagged back a long way. The hero of the last match, Hasan Nawaz, was out cheaply too for a solitary run. Captain Salman Agha could not last long as he was dismissed in the same over by Jacob Duffy. Pakistan were 9/3 after just two overs with the Kiwi bowlers swinging and seaming the ball to their advantage.

The same script continued for the visitors as batters to come failed to get going. At the end of the powerplay, Pakistan were 42/5. Their prospects looked grim and the fate sealed.

Irfan Khan (24 off 16) and Abdul Samad (44 off 30) tried to delay the inevitable as no other batter got into double figures. Pakistan ultimately folded for 105, losing the match by a massive 115 runs. Every New Zealand bowler picked up a wicket with the pacers being the chief destroyers. Duffy (4/20) and Zakary Foulkes (3/25) were the standout bowlers.

New Zealand take an unassailable lead of 3-1 with one match to go which will be held on Wednesday, March 26 at Sky Stadium, Wellington.