At Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Friday, Mohammad Nawaz shone with the bat as Pakistan defeated New Zealand by five wickets in the tri-series final.
Nawaz assisted Pakistan in defeating New Zealand by five wickets, allowing them to win the tri-series Twenty20 final in Christchurch with three balls remaining.
With an opening match against bitter rival India on October 23, it was encouraging for Pakistan to head into the World Cup in Australia.
Spinner, Michael Bracewell stopped Pakistan’s early momentum in the tourists’ response after the hosts reached their final score of 163-7 at Hagley Oval, and Nawaz then came through with his decisive 38 off 22 balls.
Likewise, Haider Ali scored a productive 31 from 15 balls.
An earlier 56-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Haider Ali and Mohammad Nawaz was broken by Tim Southee’s dismissal of Haider Ali in the 16th over. Asif Ali was dismissed by Blair Tickner in the very next over, setting up an exciting finish to the game.
With the removal of Shan Masood in the eleventh over of the innings by Michael Bracewell and the removal of Mohammad Rizwan by Ish Sodhi in the very next over, New Zealand took the lead. Earlier, the opening stand of 29 runs came to an end when Babar Azam was bowled by Michael Bracewell in the fourth over of the innings.
Haider Ali (31 off 15), Mohammad Nawaz (38 off 22), and Iftikhar Ahmed (25 off 14) led Pakistan home in a 164-run chase. Earlier, Pakistan bowled brilliantly at the death to keep the Kiwis quiet, giving them a chance to win the T20I Tri-series Title.
WONDERFUL THOUGHTS SHARED AFTER MATCH
Babar Azam: Captain of Pakistan – All praise goes to the crew for the excellent performance, launched the ball well, and particularly the death over were excellent. Great batters, especially the middle order, did its job. It’s amazing how Nawaz and Haider were playing. You want the middle order to advance in that way. We feel good about ourselves as a team going into the main event, and we want to keep the momentum going.
After receiving the prize, Babar is surrounded by his friends, who are all singing loudly outside. Even if the World Cup won’t be long away, Pakistan will undoubtedly celebrate tonight and possibly the next day.
Whether they can win games without Babar-Rizwan contributions has been the main discussion regarding their batting. Even though one game doesn’t mean much, the middle order’s performance in a crucial final will mean a great deal to them.
The Captain of New Zealand, Kane Williamson stated that it was a Fantastic cricket match. Pakistan is a highly powerful team. They did a fantastic job of shifting the momentum in their favour. For us, disappointing. You probably always wish for 20 more runs, but the wicket was on the weaker side, and this series has been largely successful for us.
Pakistan deserves praise for their excellent ball striking. No one should be held accountable for Sodhi’s 25 ran over. It’s a game with razor-thin odds. You aren’t far from turning the game in your favour, even with an over that goes for too many. This conviction is essential to us.
Fantastic run chase from Pakistan and the fact that they did it in a final without the Babar-Rizwan duo contributing significantly will give them a huge confidence boost.
164 was a slightly below-par mark, but New Zealand wasn’t entirely out of the running on a surface that was slightly two-paced and keeping low. And in the first half of the chase, their bowlers followed their plan, choosing Babar early and then choking any impetus out of the Rizwan-Masood combo, despite the southpaw briefly escaping the chains.
Both succumbed to the rising asking price, and you anticipated another collapse.
However, Nawaz and Haider had other plans. The pair launched an incredible counterattack that was so out of character for Pakistan. Like, Sodhi took the brunt of the pair’s aggressive bowling. They possessed a reasonable amount of game control, but once the attack began, they were helpless. They’ll regret their bat finish as well; they were obviously 15-20 short.
CONCLUSION
This chase did not start steadily, consolidate in the middle overs, and end strongly as Pakistan’s chases typically do. Bracewell had bowled four efficient overs, going for just 14, while taking two wickets. Babar and Rizwan were not in the lineup. However, the middle order fired and took off. They defeated Sodhi and ejected Tickner and Southee.
A fantastic squad in Pakistan. It’s nice to contribute, but you want to make a few more and get winning yet it still felt amazing. Most likely got a par total, but Pakistan’s death bowling was pretty effective. Throughout the competition, the guys all performed their duties admirably.
Boult’s threat was avoided with deft knocking around, and Pakistan got the victory.
Going into the World Cup, Pakistan will be in a frenzy. Losing at home usually hurts a little more, so New Zealand will be sad, but they have a talented team, and we have all seen how they can unexpectedly win ICC competitions. Best wishes for the T20 World Cup to both sides.
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