NEW DELHI:
Pakistan
levelled the
T20I
series against
New Zealand
with a nine-run win at the
Gaddafi Stadium
in Lahore on Saturday.
Pakistan skipper
Babar Azam
hit a solid half-century while spearhead
Shaheen Shah Afridi
grabbed four wickets.
Azam's 44-ball 69 and Fakhar Zaman's 33-ball 43 took Pakistan to 178-5 in their 20 overs before Afridi claimed 4-30 to restrict New Zealand to 169 in 19.2 overs.
Afridi gave Pakistan an ideal start by dismissing Tom Blundell for four in his first over.
Tim Seifert
put New Zealand back on track with an aggressive 33-ball 52 -- his ninth T20I half century containing seven boundaries and two sixes.
Seifert added 76 for the second wicket with skipper
Micheal Bracewell
(23) but from 81-1, New Zealand lost four wickets in the space of 25 balls for the addition of just 22 runs.
Leg-spinner Usama Mir (2-21) had Seifert and Mark Chapman (12) while fellow spinner
Shadab Khan
accounted for Bracewell as New Zealand's chase was derailed.
But a highlight of Seifert's knock came in the sixth over bowled by
Mohammad Amir
.
After being hit for a four on the first ball, Amir bowled a full ball wide outside off. Seifert dived to reach for the ball, swung his bat but only met thin air as the ball went for wide.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) shared a video of the shot on their official X handle:
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