New Zealand Got A Close Win by Beating Iftikhar Blitz

Tom Latham’s half-century and the team’s work with the ball helped New Zealand stay in the series against Pakistan.

On Monday, April 17, in Lahore, they beat Iftikhar Ahmed’s great innings and won by only four runs in the third T20I.

Latham scored 64 runs in 49 balls, and Daryl Mitchell and Mark Chapman scored runs that helped New Zealand get to 163/5.

At one point in the chase, Pakistan was down to 88/7, but Iftikhar led a great comeback by hitting a 60 off 24 balls that included six sixes.

The hosts still had a chance to win because Iftikhar hit a six and a four off of James Neesham in the final over.

But when he was out on the fourth ball and Haris Rauf was out on the last ball, Pakistan lost.

Babar Azam was out in the second over of the chase. Adam Milne, who started with a wicket-maiden, got him with a great catch from Rachin Ravindra.

Mohammad Rizwan was out soon after, and Pakistan’s score in the powerplay was only 35/2.

New Zealand kept getting wickets at regular intervals, leaving the home team in trouble at 54/4 halfway through their game.

New Zealand kept chipping away at Pakistan until they needed 87 runs in 35 deliveries and only had three wickets left.

But Iftikhar, who had already hit two sixes in a Ravindra over, went after Neesham and Milne and got good help from Faheem Ashraf, who hit 27 off 14 in a 61-run eighth wicket stand that took only 26 deliveries.

Iftikhar got to 50 off 20 balls, but Faheem was out in the final over to Matt Henry, who only gave away 8.

Iftikhar then hit long-on in the last over while trying to clear the fence, and Rauf couldn’t get the job done in the end.

After choosing to bat first, New Zealand had a slow powerplay, scoring only 35 runs and losing Chad Bowes early on.

Latham had only 19 runs after 21 balls, and Will Young also got off to a slow start.

Young’s six off Shadab Khan and Ashraf’s two fours in the eighth over helped New Zealand step up their game, but the legspinner got rid of the No. 3 in the ninth over.

At the end of the 10th over, New Zealand was 64/2, and Latham and Mitchell had to take the team to a good score.

Latham was on 34 off 32 when Imad Wasim gave him a four and a six in the 12th over.

Mitchell hit Shadab for a six and two fours, and New Zealand passed the 100-run mark. Latham got to 50 in 41 balls and then hit a six off Shaheen Afridi.

Mitchell was then caught by the left-arm pacer, breaking a 65-run stand.

Latham was out to Haris in the 17th over, but Neesham and Chapman got three fours and a six between them to help New Zealand reach 160, which was just enough.

Briefly, New Zealand beat Pakistan 159 in 20 overs (Iftikhar Ahmed 60, Faheem Ashraf 27, James Neesham 3-38) by 4 runs.