DUNEDIN: Finn Allen blasted a world-record-equaling 16 sixes in an innings of 137 from 62 balls as New Zealand beat Pakistan by 45 runs in the third Twenty20 international Wednesday to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
Allen equaled the world record set by Hazratullah Zazai of Afghanistan of 16 sixes in a T20 international innings and posted the highest score by a New Zealander in T20 internationals, beating Brendon McCullum’s 123 against Bangladesh in 2012.
New Zealand made a colossal 224-7 after being sent in by Pakistan for third time in the series. Pakistan again fell short, managing 179-7 in reply, as the Black Caps followed their victories by 46 and 21 runs respectively in the first two matches.
The only bright point was Babar Azam’s third consecutive half-century of the series. Babar was out for 58 in the 16th over when the chase already was beyond hopeless.
Zazai set the six-hitting record when he scored 162 from 62 balls against Ireland in 2019.
The swashbuckling Allen, following on from his 74 off 41 balls in game two, frequently belted the ball out of the ground in his whirlwind innings.
Two of Allen’s sixes carried more than 100 metres, one passing over the crossbar and between the uprights of the rugby ground adjacent to the University Oval. Three were hit so far out of the ground that the ball could not be found and had to be replaced.
He took a particular toll on Haris Rauf, who conceded only two runs from his first over but 28 runs and 23 runs from his next two overs. Haris and Allen are team-mates at the San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket.
“It’s good to see the hard work of the last few months come off,” Player of the Match Allen said of his knock, which also included five fours.
“It was good. I just tried to have a solid foundation and play good cricket shots. What I’ve been working on is trying to have a solid foundation, a solid base and trying to build from there and hit the ball where it’s supposed to go.
“It’s about picking my moments when it’s time to go and picking bowlers. I think for me just playing the ball on its merits and where it’s supposed to go is what I’ve been trying to do.
“I’m not so personal milestone-driven. I suppose it’s just good to get across the line and put up a competitive score and take the series.”
Mitch Santner, standing in as New Zealand captain for the injured Kane Williamson, said the innings went as planned. “The way he constructed his innings, we talked about trying to do it for as long as he can, and he did it for a long time today.”
After the early dismissal of Devon Conway for seven, Allen and Tim Seifert put on 125 for the second wicket, with Seifert only contributing 31 as he opted for singles to keep the hard-hitting opener on strike.
Allen’s record total began when he hit consecutive sixes from the second and third balls of the third over, bowled by Shaheen Shan Afridi. He hit 6, 4, 4, 6, 6, 1 off Haris in the sixth over which also included a wide, taking in the fast bowler out of the attack, as New Zealand reached 67-1 at the end of the sixth-over power play.
Allen’s 50 came from only 26 balls and included three fours and five sixes. His six off Mohammad Nawaz was his longest, carrying 107 metres.
Haris was brought back in after New Zealand cruised to 109-1 at the halfway stage and Allen smacked three sixes in that over from Rauf, who bled 60 runs for his two wickets.
The opener was eventually undone in the 18th over when he was bowled by an off-cutter from Zaman Khan, who then applauded the New Zealand batsman as he left the field.
Pakistan never really had the momentum to approach such a substantial total. They lost Saim Ayub early and Mohammad Rizwan after a 39-run partnership with Babar.
They reached 95-2 in the 11th over, but saw a clutch of wickets derail their chase, losing four for just 39 runs.
Babar kept Pakistan in the hunt for a while and Mohammad Nawaz contributed 28 off 15 in a late cameo but Tim Southee (2-29) led New Zealand’s disciplined bowling to ensure they were never really threatened.
Pakistan has now won only one of their last eight T20 internationals as they head towards this year’s World Cup in the United States and Caribbean. This is their first series under new T20 captain Shaheen.
The last two matches of the series are scheduled in Christchurch on Friday and Sunday.
Scoreboard
NEW ZEALAND:F. Allen b Zaman 137D. Conway c Nawaz b Haris 7T. Seifert c Saim b Wasim 31D. Mitchell c Zaman b Nawaz 8G. Phillips c Saim b Shaheen 19M. Chapman c Wasim b Haris 1M. Santner run out 4M. Henry not out 1I. Sodhi not out 3EXTRAS (LB-5, W-8) 13TOTAL (for seven wickets, 20 overs) 224DID NOT BAT: T. Southee, L. FergusonFALL OF WICKETS: 1-28 (Conway), 2-153 (Seifert), 3-174 (Mitchell), 4-203 (Allen), 5-214 (Chapman), 6-219 (Santner), 7-221 (Phillips)BOWLING: Shaheen 4-0-43-1, Zaman 4-0-37-1 (1w), Haris 4-0-60-2 (4w), Nawaz 4-0-44-1 (1w), Wasim 4-0-35-1 (2w)PAKISTAN:Saim Ayub c Ferguson b Southee 10Mohammad Rizwan c Seifert b Santner 24Babar Azam c Phillips b Sodhi 58Fakhar Zaman c Santner b Ferguson 19Azam Khan c Phillips b Henry 10Iftikhar Ahmed run out 1Mohammad Nawaz c Seifert b Southee 28Shaheen Shah Afridi not out 16Mohammad Wasim not out 1EXTRAS (B-4, LB-4, W-4) 12TOTAL (for seven wickets, 20 overs) 179DID NOT BAT: Haris Rauf, Zaman KhanFALL OF WICKETS: 1-23 (Saim), 2-62 (Rizwan), 3-95 (Fakhar), 4-115 (Azam), 5-121 (Iftikhar), 6-134 (Babar), 7-174 (Nawaz)BOWLING: Southee 4-0-29-2, Henry 4-0-51-1 (1w), Ferguson 4-0-27-1 (1w), Santner 4-0-26-1 (2w), Sodhi 4-0-38-1RESULT: New Zealand won by 45 runs.PLAYER-OF-THE-MATCH: Finn Allen
Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2024