New Zealand sealed victory in the five-match series against Pakistan as the Kiwis beat the Green Shirts by 45 runs in the third T20I in Dunedin on Wednesday.
Finn Allen smashed 137 runs in 62 balls as New Zealand set Pakistan a daunting target of 225 runs on Wednesday.
In reply, Babar Azam, 58 off 37, scored his third consecutive fifty, but it was not enough to see Pakistan through.
Mitchell Santner bowled an economical spell claiming one wicket for 26 runs in four overs.
Allen took Pakistan to the cleaners as he hit the highest individual score for New Zealand in men’s T20Is, surpassing Brendan McCullum’s previous best of 123 sets. He also hit the most sixes in an innings in men’s T20Is, 16.
The opener was particularly harsh on Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf as he smashed 27 in one over, including three sixes, two fours and a single.
Allen’s blistering knock put New Zealand in a strong position to clinch the five-match series with two games remaining and maintain their unbeaten record at University Oval in Dunedin.
After the early departure of Devon Conway for seven, Allen and Tim Seifert added 125 for the second wicket, with Seifert contributing just 31 when he opted to take singles to keep the batting in shape.
The umpires had to call for replacement balls three times after Allen smashed them out of the park.
The opener was finally dismissed in the 18th over when he was bowled by a batsman from Zaman Khan, who then applauded the New Zealand batsman as he left the field.
Both teams made three changes before the match.
Lockie Ferguson, Tim Seifert and Mathew Henry came on for Kane Williamson, Adam Milne and Ben Sears.
Leg-spinner Usama Mir and all-rounder Aamer Jamal have been left out of Pakistan’s squad, while pacer Abbas Afridi has been ruled out due to low abdominal muscle tension.
Mohammad Wasim Jr, Mohammad Nawaz and Zaman Khan replaced the aforementioned trio for Pakistan.
Assemblies
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Tim Seifert (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (c), Matthew Henry, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (vc), Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi (c), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan
