New Zealand won their third match on-the-trot by crushing Pakistan in the 23 match of the on-going ICC World Twenty20.
Over 20 | Score 158/5 (Sarfraz 11; Malik 15)
Milne to bowl the final over. First ball, Sarfraz Ahmed took a double. Single off the next. Third ball, dot one. Fourth ball, Malik picked a double. Two more singles from the last two balls as New Zealand beat Pakistan by 22 runs.
Over 19 | Score 151/5 (Sarfraz 7; Malik 12)
McClenaghan to bowl the penultimate over of the match. Six runs came from the first four balls. Match is slipping away from Pakistan's hand with every single ball. Three from the last two. Pak need 30 runs off 6 balls.
Over 18 | Score 142/5 (Sarfraz 9; Malik 1)
Another wicket fell as Akmal walked back to the pavilion. Sarfraz Ahmed came to the middle. Five from the over. Pak need 39 runs off 12 balls.
Umar Akmal c Guptill b Milne 24 (26b)
Over 17 | Score 137/4 (Akmal 22; Malik 7)
McClenaghan with his 3rd over. Match is even poised, it can still be anyone's game. Six runs from the first five balls. Last ball, a double from Akmal's willow. Pak need 44 runs off 18 balls.
Over 16 | Score 129/4 (Akmal 17; Malik 4)
Afridi Out! Sodhi picked his first wicket. Afridi caught at deep long-off. Shoaib Malik came to the middle. Sodhi produced an excellent over, a wicket and six runs. Pak need 52 runs off 24 balls.
Shahid Afridi c Anderson b Sodhi 19 (9b)
Over 15 | Score 123/3 (Akmal 15; Afridi 19)
McClenaghan back into the attack. Two runs came from the first three balls. Fifth ball was slapped by Afridi towards extra covers for a boundary. Eight from the over.
Over 14 | Score 115/3 (Akmal 12; Afridi 14)
Sodhi with his 3rd. Afridi launched the bowler for a six over mid-wicket. 11 from the over. Pak need 66 runs off 36 balls.
Over 13 | Score 104/3 (Akmal 10; Afridi 6)
Santner picked up his 2nd wicket in the form of opener Shehzad. Skipper Shahid Afridi has come to the middle. Afridi opened his account with a boundary. Eight from the over. Pakistan crossed the 100-run mark.
Ahmed Shehzad c Guptill b Santner 30 (32b)
Over 12 | Score 96/2 (Akmal 8; Shehzad 30)
Sodhi with his 2nd over. Spinners have done a good job for Kiwis thus far. Five from the over, all came in singles.
Over 11 | Score 91/2 (Akmal 6; Shehzad 27)
Santner to continue. Another excellent over. Mere two runs came off it. Pak need 90 from 54 balls.
Over 10 | Score 89/2 (Akmal 5; Shehzad 26)
Seamer Elliott bowled a tight over as he conceded six from the over.
Over 9 | Score 83/2 (Akmal 1; Shehzad 24)
Trying to launched Santner for a six, Latif miss-timed his shot and gave a skier to Elliott at long-on. Umar Akmal walked into the middle. Pak need 98 runs from 66 balls.
Khalid Latif c Elliott b Santner 3 (7b)
Over 8 | Score 79/1 (Latif 3; Shehzad 22)
Leggie Ish Sodhi into the attack for the first time. Tight over first up by the spinner as he gave mere three in it.
Over 7 | Score 76/1 (Latif 2; Shehzad 20)
Elliott to bowl his opening over. Shehzad cut him for a boundary towards backward point. Latif opened his account with a single. Ten from he over.
Over 6 | Score 66/1 (Latif 0; Shehzad 12)
Sharjeel Out! After hitting Milne for a boundary Sharjeel lost his wicket off the next. But an entertaining knock by the opener. Khalid Latif is the new man in.
Sharjeel Khan c Guptill b Milne 47 (25b)
Over 5 | Score 61/0 (Sharjeel 43; Shehzad 11)
Anderson to continue. Off the 4th ball came 4 leg-byes. In the last ball, Shehzad hit his 2nd boundary towards third man. Ten from the over. Pakistan couldn't have asked for a better start.
Over 4 | Score 51/0 (Sharjeel 42; Shehzad 6)
Last match hero for Kiwis, McClenaghan, to bowl his opening over. 2nd ball was too short and Sharjeel pulled it towards mid-wicket for a boundary. He slogged the next in the same area to get the similar result. Next was again short and he collected his third consecutive four, this time towards fine leg. Last ball was launched for a Six, towards mid-wicket. 18 from the over. Pakistan crossed the 50-run mark as well.
Over 3 | Score 33/0 (Sharjeel 24; Shehzad 6)
First bowling change! Adam Milne into the attack. Sharjeel is in dangerous mood as he smacked the bowler for two consecutive boundaries. Pakistan off to a flying start. Nine from the over.
Over 2 | Score 24/0 (Sharjeel 15; Shehzad 6)
Corey Anderson to bowl. Shezad too opened his account with a boundary off the first ball he faced. It's a placid track and 180 can be chased. Nine from the over.
Over 1 | Score 15/0 (Sharjeel 14; Shehzad 0)
NZ to start with spin as Mitchell Santner to bowl the over. First ball was smacked towards mid-on for a boundary from Sharjeel's willow. He then hit the left-arm spinner for two more boundaries to collect 15 from the opening over.
New Zealand Innings
Over 20 | Score 180/5 (Taylor 36, Elliott 1)
Amir to bowl the last over off the innings. Fist ball, Taylor slapped the bowler for a flat six over long on. Four runs from the next three balls. Fifth ball, thick edge from Taylor's willow as he collected another boundary. Last ball, double from it. 16 runs came from the over.
Over 19 | Score 164/5 (Taylor 21)
Black Caps will look to touch the 190-run mark from here. Sami to bowl. Three runs from the first three. Next ball, dot. Single off the next. Wicket off the last ball.
L Ronchi c Shoaib Malik b Mohammad Sami 11 (7b )
Over 18 | Score 160/4 (Taylor 18; Ronchi 10)
Mohammad Irfan to bowl the over. Four runs came off the first three balls. Off the 4th, Ronchi charged down track to hit the bowler for a six over long off. Single from the next. Double from the last. 14 from the over.
Over 17 | Score 146/4 (Taylor 12; Ronchi 2)
Amir back to roll his arm. First ball was paddled cleanly by Taylor to get a boundary. Double came off the next. Another double. Followed by three singles. 11 from the over.
Over 16 | Score 135/4 (Taylor 2; Ronchi 1)
In trying to up the ante, Anderson went for a big hit but couldn't connect it well and gave a simple catch to Malik at deep long off. With that Afridi picked his 2nd wicket. Luke Ronchi is the new man in.
CJ Anderson c Shoaib Malik b Shahid Afridi 21 (14b)
Over 15 | Score 127/3 (Taylor 0; Anderson 17)
Mohammad Sami back to bowl his 3rd. And Guptill welcomed him with a boundary towards extra covers. Guptill Out! Played on. Another entertaining knock by the opener came to an end. Ross Taylor came to the middle.
MJ Guptill b Mohammad Sami 80 (48b)
Over 14 | Score 123/2 (Guptill 76; Anderson 17)
Shahid Afridi to bowl his 3rd. But Guptill is hitting boundaries at will. He picked two boundaries in the over to get 13 runs in it. Kiwis are heading towards big total.
Over 13 | Score 110/2 (Guptill 63; Anderson 17)
Irfan to bowl. Anderson collected his first boundary with the help off a thick edge off the 2nd ball. Off the last ball, he chopped the tall pacer towards long off to get his 2nd boundary. Ten from it.
Over 12 | Score 100/2 (Guptill 62; Anderson 8)
Imad Wasim with his last over. Seven from the over. And with that NZ crossed the 100-run mark as well.
Over 11 | Score 93/2 (Guptill 61; Anderson 2)
Guptill took a double off the 2nd ball to complete his fifty. He used mere 33 balls to reach the mark. The opener then celebrated it by hitting Afridi for two boundaries. 12 from the over.
Over 10 | Score 80/2 (Guptill 49; Anderson 2)
Imad Wasim bowled a tight over as the spinner conceded mere five runs.
Over 9 | Score 76/2 (Guptill 46; Anderson 0)
Skipper Afridi to bowl his 1st over. Off the 2nd ball came a lucky boundary from Murno's willow towards fine third man. But Afridi has the last laugh as he got the better of the southpaw off the penultimate ball of the over. Corey Anderson walked into the middle.
C Munro c Sharjeel Khan b Shahid Afridi 7 (6b)
Over 8 | Score 69/1 (Guptill 44; Murno 2)
Irfan gave Pakistan their first breakthrough in the form of Williamson, who gave a straight catch to Afridi at cover region. Murno is the new man in. Guptill hit his 5th boundary with the help of a thick outside edge. Nine from the over.
KS Williamson c Shahid Afridi b Mohammad Irfan 17 (21b)
Over 7 | Score 60/0 (Guptill 39; Williamson 15)
Imad Wasim to continue. And he managed to put some breaks on the scoring. Five from the over.
Over 6 | Score 55/0 (Guptill 38; Williamson 11)
Rain of boundaries and sixes as Guptill is looking unstoppable at the moment. He smacked Sami for a six and a boundary off consecutive balls. NZ have crossed the 50-run mark as well. 11 from the over.
Over 5 | Score 44/0 (Guptill 28; Williamson 10)
Spin for the first time. Left-arm spinner, Imad Wasim, to bowl the over. Off the last ball, Guptill danced down the track to hit the spinner for a huge six over long on. Nine from the over.
Over 4 | Score 35/0 (Guptill 21; Williamson 8)
Bowling change! Mohammad Sami into the attack. Another boundary but this time from leg byes. Eight from the over. Kiwis off to a flying start.
Over 3 | Score 27/0 (Guptill 20; Williamson 6)
Amir to continue. Guptill is dealing in boundaries as he smacked the pacer for three boundaries. Pakistani bowlers are looking clueless. 13 from the over.
Over 2 | Score 14/0 (Guptill 8; Williamson 6)
Irfan to bowl the over. First Guptill hit the bowler for a six and then Williamson picked a boundary to collect 13 from the over.
Over 1 | Score 1/0 (Guptill 1; Williamson 0)
Amir bowled a tight first over as gave mere a single in it.
Here is the playing XI
Pakistan: A Shehzad, S Khan, K Latif, U Akmal, S Malik, S Ahmed, S Afridi, I Wasim, M Amir, M Sami, M Irfan.
New Zealand: M Guptill, K Williamson, C Munro, C Anderson, R Taylor, G Elliott, M Santner, L Ronchi, A Milne, M McClenaghan, I Sodhi.
New Zealand have won the TOSS and decided to bat first.
Pakistan will be desperately looking to ensure the painful defeat to India becomes a distant past when they run into an in-form New Zealand in today's tie.
On the other hand, the New Zealanders are on a roll with two massive wins over hosts India and Australia, making them one of the strong contenders to lift the coveted trophy on April 3. Another win and they will be in the knockout stages of the mega-event.
The fact that skipper Kane Williamson has yet to give frontline pacers Tim Southee and Trent Boult a game in this tournament gives ample demonstrations of New Zealand's depth in bowling.
Teams (from):
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (capt), Martin Guptill, Henry Nicholls, Luke Ronchi, Ross Taylor, Colin Munro, Mitchell Santer, Nathan McCullum, Grant Elliott, Mitchell McClenaghan, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi, Corey Anderson.
Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Irfan, Sharjeel Khan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Sami, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Amir, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Imad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Khurram Manzo.
