DUBAI: A superb knock from Kane Williamson wasn’t enough for the Black Caps to avoid a series sweep at the hands of Pakistan who bounced back in the game to dismiss the batting in the latter part.
Williamson’s 60 from 38 balls gave the Black Caps a sniff in their challenging chase of Pakistan’s 166-3, but when he departed, so did New Zealand’s hopes, collapsing from 96-2 to 119 all out.
The 47-run defeat seals a 3-0 series victory for Pakistan, who remain the world’s top-ranked Twenty20 team and continue their dominance at home.
The Black Caps will have a better chance of success in the three-match ODI series, which starts on Thursday morning.
Mohammad Hafeez was declared the Player of the Series while Babar Azam’s brilliant half-century earned him the Player of the Match award.
“A brilliant team effort from us. We needed 160-plus, and our batsmen did it, and Babar Azam and Hafeez played magnificent innings. Throughout the series, we’ve taken wickets with the new ball, and we’ve done well with the bat too. When our players set such records, it feels very good. The way Babar got to 1000 runs, Shadab getting the most wickets this year. Also someone like Hafeez coming back and doing so well,” said captain Sarfraz.
BABAR BECOMES FASTEST TO 1,000 T20I RUNS:
Babar Azam became the fastest player to reach 1,000 Twenty20 international runs as Pakistan scored 166-3 in the third and final match against New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday.
When Azam reached 48 he completed the landmark in just 26 innings, beating the previous record set by India’s Virat Kohli who reached 1,000 runs in 27 Twenty20 innings.
Azam finished with a 58-ball 79 with two sixes and seven boundaries while Mohammad Hafeez scored a 34-ball 53 after Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat at Dubai stadium.
Pakistan made two changes with Waqas Maqsood given a first T20 cap on his 31st birthday and Usman Shinwari making a comeback.
They replaced Hasan Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi in the side which beat New Zealand by six wickets in Dubai on Friday.
New Zealand brought in Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson and Seth Rance in place of Corey Anderson, Adam Milne and Ajaz Patel from Friday’s line up.