PAK vs NZ: Mark Chapman blew Pakistan to pieces in T20, gave New Zealand a big win by scoring an excellent century

 

In the fifth T20 match (PAK vs NZ) played in Rawalpindi, New Zealand defeated Pakistan by 6 wickets in a tremendous way to end the five-match T20 series 2-2. Batting first, Pakistan scored 193/5 in 20 overs, in reply New Zealand scored 194/4 with four balls to spare. New Zealand's Mark Chapman, who scored an unbeaten century, was adjudged player of the match. At the same time, he was also selected as the player of the series.

Opting to bat first after losing the toss, Pakistan got off to a good start. The pair of captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan added 51 runs in 5.4 overs for the first wicket. Babar's innings was slow and he scored 19 runs in 18 balls. Mohammad Haris did not even get a chance to open the account and Blair Tickner walked on the very first ball. Sam Ayub also could not open his account and Pakistan got the third blow on the score of 52. From here Rizwan got the support of Iftikhar Ahmed and both added 71 runs for the fourth wicket to take the score to 123. Iftikhar scored 36 runs in 22 balls. Imad Wasim also batted well and scored a quick 31 off 14 balls. Rizwan was unlucky and could not complete the century. He returned unbeaten after scoring 98 runs. He faced 62 balls and hit seven fours and four sixes. Blair Tickner took three wickets for New Zealand.

Chasing the target, New Zealand got off to a very poor start. Captain Tom Latham became the victim of Shaheen Shah Afridi without scoring any runs on the first ball of the innings. On the fifth ball of the same over, Will Young also went on to score a personal score of 4. Chad Bowes was dismissed for 26 after scoring 19 runs. From here Mark Chapman along with Darryl Mitchell took the score to 73. Mitchell returned to the pavilion after scoring 15 runs. Pakistan looked to have tightened their grip but Chapman and James Neesham batted brilliantly, putting on an unbeaten 121-run partnership in 58 balls for the fifth wicket to give their side a memorable victory. Chapman scored the first century of his T20 career and he remained unbeaten after scoring 104 runs in 57 balls. At the same time, Neesham played an unbeaten inning of 45 runs in 25 balls.

Let us tell you that this is New Zealand's 100th win in T20 cricket. At the same time, Pakistan had the second highest successful run chase in T20 by any team. Pakistan won the first two matches of this five-match series, while New Zealand won the third and fifth matches to level the series. The fourth match could not be completed due to stormy rain and was abandoned.