Daily Times

Skipper Babar Azam hit a solid half century while spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi grabbed four wickets as Pakistan overcame New Zealand by nine runs in the fifth and final Twenty20 international in Lahore on Saturday.

Azam’s 44-ball 69 and Fakhar Zaman’s 33-ball 43 took Pakistan to 178-5 in their 20 overs before Shaheen claimed 4-30 to restrict New Zealand to 169 in 19.2 overs, squaring the series at 2-2.

But Pakistan’s win only came in the final over with 12 needed as Josh Clarkson 38 not out threatened to pull off a heist, but two run outs in Mohammad Amir’s over sealed the home win much to the delight of a full house at Gaddafi Stadium. The first match of the series was abandoned while Pakistan clinched the second and New Zealand the third by identical seven-wicket margins — all in Rawalpindi.

New Zealand took the fourth match, also in Lahore, by four runs. The series gave both the teams a kickstart to their preparations for the Twenty20 World Cup to be held in the United States and the West Indies in June.

While Pakistan would be disappointed not to have won a series against a depleted New Zealand side missing a host of players due to Indian Premier League, unavailability and injuries, the visitors got a boost from their bench strength.