Mitchell, Bracewell Take NZ Past 200-Run Mark

This is quite a remarkable comeback from the Men In Green. Sent on a leather hunt by opening duo Tim Seifert and Finn Allen, Pakistan bowlers have responded with three wickets in 15 balls to stem the run flow. The run rate is now under 11 and the visitors will try to restrict the Kiwis to below 200.

Absolute carnage at the Bay Oval. Tim Seifert and Mark Chapman’s dismissals fail to faze Finn Allen, who bludgeons 20 runs off four Shadab Khan deliveries to race away to a 19-ball half-century. After a temporary blip in the scoring rate, the Kiwis are flying again.

Tim Seifert has taken it upon himself to make the most of the powerplay. The 30-year-old wicketkeeper-batter has blasted 44 not out off 21 balls to propel the Kiwis to a fantastic start. The run rate is over 14 and with no wicket fallen yet, Finn Allen is not even in the frame yet, having faced just three balls in the first four overs. Meanwhile, Pakistan players break their Ramadan fast at the end of the third over.

Seam-bowling spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi has the ball in hand for Pakistan. Tim Seifert and Finn Allen stride out to open for the BlackCaps. Seifert strokes a beautiful straight drive down the ground for a boundary off the second ball to set the tone for the hosts. But Shaheen responds with a brilliant yorker-length delivery that narrowly misses the off stump. A ‘French cut’ down to the long leg fence caps off a disappointing over for the Men In Green.

Michael Bracewell: “Eden Park is a special ground, strange kinds of things happening there. We scored 200 (in the third game) but they batted particularly well. We needed a partnership in the middle that would have taken us to 230-240 maybe but this is a different kind of ground and we have to assess accordingly.”

Salman Ali Agha: “(On bowling first) It worked for us in the last game and we want to continue the same. It does look like an Asian kind of wicket, we are a good enough team to play in any condition.”

Pakistan have won the toss and elected to field first against New Zealand at the Bay Oval.

Playing XIs

Pakistan: Mohammad Haris (wk), Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha (c), Irfan Khan, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Abdul Samad, Shaheen Afridi, Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

New Zealand: Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Hay (wk), Michael Bracewell (c), Zakary Foulkes, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy, William ORourke

Pakistan opened their account in the series with a convincing nine-wicket win in the third T20I. After winning the toss and bowling first, the visitors chased down New Zealand’s 205-run target with four full overs to spare. Hasan Nawaz made an unbeaten 105 from 45 balls and was supported in his first century by captain Salman Ali Agha, who made 51 from 31 balls in an unbroken partnership of 133 for the second wicket. Pakistan finished at 207-1 to inflict New Zealand’s heaviest T20 loss in terms of wickets, and also keep the series alive.

The match will begin at 11:45am IST, with the toss scheduled for 11:15am. The fourth T20I between New Zealand and Pakistan will be telecast on the Sony Sports Network TV channels in India. It will be live streamed on the SonyLIV app and website, as well as the FanCode app and website in India.

Pakistan: Mohammad Haris (wk), Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha (c), Irfan Khan, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Abdul Samad, Shaheen Afridi, Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Usman Khan, Mohammad Ali, Sufiyan Muqeem, Jahandad Khan, Omair Yousuf

New Zealand: Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Hay (wk), Michael Bracewell (c), Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy, Ben Sears, William ORourke, Tim Robinson, Zakary Foulkes