Chapman’s blistering 87* raises New Zealand’s score to par.

In the third Twenty20 International at Rawalpindi, New Zealand defeated Pakistan by seven wickets. This win tie the five-match T20I series at one. Mark Chapman spearheaded the chase with a combative 42-ball 87*. After choosing to bat first, the hosts amassed a respectable 178/4 from their 20 overs. Thanks in part to contributions from Shadab Khan’s 20-ball cameo of 41 towards the close of the innings and their top order. But with ten balls remaining, Chapman’s New Zealand side overshot the mark. Babar Azam is a great player.

Pakistan chose to bat first, and Babar Azam (37 off 29) and Saim Ayub (32 off 22) put on a fast-paced partnership before Ish Sodhi gave the visitors the first breakthrough, breaking the stand at 55. Babar Azam went on with Rizwan, who subsequently retired on 22 due to injury. With two swift wickets on either side, New Zealand broke the momentum, removing Babar Azam and wicketkeeper-bat Usman Khan in the span of 17 balls.

But Shadab came to join Irfan Khan, and the two of them once more gave Pakistan the much-needed boost. They combined for 62 runs at the fourth wicket to push the score above 150. In his 20-ball 41, Shadab was the more aggressive player, hitting four more boundaries and a couple of sixes, while Irfan finished with an undefeated thirty in an equal amount of deliveries.

New Zealand’s openers, who were chasing Pakistan’s 178/4, also got the team off to a quick start before falling six balls apart in the final two overs of the powerplay. After that, Chapman took over and he and Dean Foxcroft formed a partnership for 117 runs. With his aggressive batting, Chapman destroyed the bowling, hitting nine boundaries and four sixes in his 42-ball essay. On the second ball of the penultimate over, he led his team over the finish line. He scored a half-century off 29 balls.