Pakistan vs New Zealand, 2018: T20I series – Statistical Highlights

Pakistan continued their good run in the T20I format as they whitewashed New Zealand in the three-match series in the UAE less than a week after doing the same against Australia. Unlike the Aussies, New Zealand came close to defeating Pakistan in the first two matches. However, Pakistan’s experience of playing in the slow UAE tracks and their consistency in this format over the last two years helped them to edge past the Blackcaps. The visiting side lost their last eight wickets in the final T20I for only 23 runs to lose the game by 47 runs.

All the major stats and numbers that were recorded during Pakistan’s whitewash:

9 – Pakistan have won each of their last nine T20I matches; the second-longest winning streak in the T20I format for any team. Afghanistan won 11 consecutive T20I between 2016 and 2017.

11 – Pakistan has won each of their last 11 T20I series/tournaments; the longest winning streak for any team. Their chase in the second game of the series was marked to be their 11th consecutive T20I win while chasing which is also a record.

17 – Number of T20I matches that Pakistan won in 2018; the most by any team in a calendar year. They broke the record held by India with 15 wins in 2016.

26 – Innings Babar Azam needed to complete 1000 runs in T20I cricket. He is the quickest to the milestone by surpassing Virat Kohli who needed 27 innings for 1000 T20I runs.

28 – Shadab Khan has bagged 28 wickets in T20I cricket in 2018; the joint-most by any player in a calendar year in this format. India’s Jasprit Bumrah also bagged 28 T20I wickets in 2016. The previous most T20I wickets in a year by a Pakistan bowler was 25 wickets by Saeed Ajmal.

47 – Shoaib Malik has taken 47 catches in T20I cricket thus far. These are the most number of catches by a player surpassing 44 each by AB de Villiers and Ross Taylor.

166/3 – Pakistan’s total of 166/3 in the 3rd T20I is the highest in the last 12 T20I matches hosted by UAE. The last time a team went past 160 in a T20I in UAE was in April 2017 by UAE when they made 180/3 against PNG in Abu Dhabi.

166/3 – The total of 166/3 by Pakistan is the 5th lowest by any team for the loss of three of fewer wickets in a T20I game. The lowest is 137/3 by Australia in the 2013 Sydney T20I against Sri Lanka.