HAMILTON: Tim Seifert’s undefeated 84 not out trumped an unbeaten 99 by Mohammad Hafeez as New Zealand claimed the second Twenty20 International against Pakistan by nine wickets in Hamilton on Sunday to take the series with a game to spare.

The Black Caps chased down Pakistan’s 163 for six with four balls to spare at Seddon Park, after winning the first game in Auckland by five wickets.

New Zealand captain Kane Willi­amson — back in the side after paternity leave — hit the winning runs with a boundary to be 57 not out but said the game was all about the bowling of man-of-the-match Tim Southee and the batting of Seifert and Hafeez.

Seifert faced 63 balls for his 84, while Hafeez was in destructive form, which he attributed to taking up golf, as he plundered 99 from 57 deliveries while Southee restricted the remaining Pakistan batsmen with four for 21.

“It was a good surface, one that had a little bit for the bowlers and obviously if you could build partnerships you could gain some momentum,” Williamson said. “It was really satisfying to get across the line. A fantastic knock by Seifert, a really good effort with the ball and obviously a brilliant knock by Hafeez, the master.”

Opener Seifert batted through the innings and although denied a century because of the quality of his partners, he did match his career-best 84 against India last year.

He put on 35 for the first wicket with Martin Guptill, who was out for 21, and shared in a 129-run stand with Williamson.

The 40-year-old Hafeez, out first ball in Auckland, was almost on his own for Pakistan with a career-best 99 which included 10 fours and five sixes. It was his fourth half-century from six innings in the past year and he put the consistency down to taking up golf.

“I started golf last year and I realised the basics of the game are similar — good balance, good base, good swing, good follow-through that really worked for my cricket in the last year,” he said.

Hafeez, who was on 82 at start of the final over, hit three singles, a six and a four and was 93 not out with only one ball left in the innings. He did the best he could, hitting the final delivery for six to finish just short of a maiden century.

Mohammad Rizwan’s 22 was the next best score for Pakistan and captain Shadab Khan put the lack of a decent total down to his players not adapting to New Zealand conditions.

“It’s not a technique issue, we’re not used to the pitches and that’s why the conditions are a little bit difficult,” he said. “We have young openers and they will learn quickly, hopefully.”

New Zealand was reinforced by the return of four members of their Test squad, including Williamson, who also missed the second Test against the West Indies.

Southee, Trent Boult and Kyle Jamieson also returned, giving New Zealand an all-new pace attack. Southee made his presence felt, taking 4-21 from his four overs to weaken the Pakistan innings.

Boult took 0-33 and Jamieson 0-43 but New Zealand generally bowled well after losing the toss.

Pakistan also won the toss and batted in the first match at Eden Park. The final game is in Napier on Tuesday night.

Scoreboard

PAKISTAN:

Mohammad Rizwan c Seifert b Southee 22

Haider Ali c Williamson b Southee 8

Abdullah Shafiq c and b Southee 0

Mohammad Hafeez not out 99

Shadab Khan c Southee b Neesham 4

Khushdil Shah c Guptill b Kuggeleijn 14

Faheem Ashraf c Williamson b Southee 4

Imad Wasim not out 10

EXTRAS (LB-2) 2

TOTAL (for six wkts, 20 overs) 163

FALL OF WKTS: 1-16, 2-16, 3-33, 4-56, 5-119, 6-133.

DID NOT BAT: Wahab Riaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf.

BOWLING: Boult 4-0-33-0; Southee 4-0-21-4; Jamieson 4-0-43-0; Kuggeleijn 3-0-33-0; Neesham 2-0-10-1; Sodhi 3-0-21-1.

NEW ZEALAND:

M.J. Guptill c Haris b Faheem 21

T.L. Seifert not out 84

K.S. Williamson not out 57

EXTRAS (W-2) 2

TOTAL (for one wkt, 19.2 overs) 164

FALL OF WKT: 1-35.

DID NOT BAT: D.P. Conway, G.D. Phillips, J.D.S. Neesham, K.A. Jamieson, S.C. Kuggeleijn, T.G. Southee, I.S. Sodhi, T.A. Boult.

BOWLING: Shaheen Shah Afridi 4-0-38-0 (1w); Haris Rauf 4-0-39-0 (1w); Faheem Ashraf

3.2-0-19-1; Wahab Riaz 1-0-19-0; Shadab Khan 4-0-24-0; Imad Wasim 3-0-25-0.

RESULT: New Zealand won by nine wickets to lead three-match 2-0.

UMPIRES: C.M. Brown (New Zealand) and S.B. Haig (New Zealand).

TV UMPIRE: W.R. Knights (New Zealand).

MATCH REFEREE: J.J. Crowe (New Zealand).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Tim Southee.

FIRST MATCH: Auckland, New Zealand won by five wickets.

THIRD MATCH: Napier (N), Tuesday (11:00am PST).

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2020