Christchurch: New Zealand dished out a dominant display in the fourth T20I of the series against Pakistan scripting a win by seven wickets. The team took a lead of 4-0 in the series with the victory, thanks to a collective effort.
New Zealand won the toss and invited Pakistan to bat first. Mohammed Rizwan was the sole warrior for the Pakistani side while wickets kept tumbling from the other end. Rizwan played a knock of unbeaten 90 runs, but he was still unable to take the team to a challenging total. Pakistan managed to post a total of 158 for 5 with Mohammad Nawaz (21*) being the second-highest scorer in the innings. Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson picked a couple of wickets each for the bowling team while Adam Milne got rid of Babar Azam.
Coming in to chase the total, New Zealand had a dismal start to their innings losing three wickets for 20 runs. However, Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips joined forces for the fourth wicket to build a 139-run partnership. It was New Zealand's highest partnership for the fourth wicket in the shortest format surpassing the previous record from Corey Anderson and Kane Williamson. Mitchell played a knock of unbeaten 72 runs while Phillips scored unbeaten 70 runs during his stay at the crease.
Shaheen Afridi was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets to his name while conceding 34 runs during his spell. The fifth and final game of the series will be played on January 21 in Christchurch and the Blackcaps would approach the game with an aim to register a whitewash. Pakistan, on the other hand, will look forward to saving their pride with a win in the last game of the series.
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