Fast bowlers, Phillips, Mitchell flatten Pakistan for 4-0

Unbeaten half-centuries from Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell backing up frugal two-wicket hauls each from Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson gave New Zealand a comfortable seven-wicket victory in the fourth T20I against Pakistan and a 4-0 lead in the five-match series.

Sent into bat, Mohammad Rizwan was the lone spark for Pakistan in another disappointing game for their batters, in Christchurch. He scored an unbeaten 90 off 63 balls, while the rest of the batters managed only 61 off 55 and Pakistan reached 158 for 5 in their 20 overs.

In reply, Shaheen Shah Afridi struck three times in his first two overs to have New Zealand under pressure for the first time in the series. But Mitchell and Phillips took their time in settling in before opening up their shoulders big time to help New Zealand coast to victory in 18.1 overs. Phillips remained unbeaten on a 52-ball 70 while Mitchell scored 72 not out off 44 with the duo adding an unbeaten 139 off 93 balls for the third wicket.

Pakistan were batting first for the first time in this series. But Henry put an early spanner in their works when he had Saim Ayub edging to first slip, where Mitchell took a straightforward catch on the second attempt.

Rizwan, however, wasn't going to get bogged down. Adam Milne, playing his 50th T20I, was taken for two successive fours, while Tim Southee also was given a similar treatment. Rizwan then dispatched Ferguson miles over deep midwicket, with Babar Azam also joining in on the fun as Pakistan raced to 51 for 1 in six overs.

Rizwan continued his merry ways, finding the gaps at regular intervals. But as has been the case with Pakistan's batting this series, they failed to stitch partnerships. Babar fell to a 149.5kph Milne bumper that he could only mistime to Phillips at deep midwicket. Fakhar Zaman came in and sucked the momentum out of the innings, labouring to 9 off 15 before Ferguson put him out of his misery. Sahibzada Farhan, who replaced Azam Khan, lasted two balls as Pakistan slipped to 86 for 4 after 13 overs.

However, Rizwan continued to play the lone ranger. He took 38 balls to reach fifty but with wickets falling at the other end, he focused on rotating the strike more than taking risks. That Pakistan got past 150 was down to Mohammad Nawaz hammering Milne for three successive sixes in the 19th over that went for 21.

However, on a two-paced surface, 158 seemed a touch under par.

The skip in the step was back and so was the famous celebration. Finn Allen struck Afridi for two fours on the bounce, but on the fourth ball of the first over, he closed the face of the bat too soon on a full-length ball on leg stump to be caught at point. Two balls later, Tim Seifert's feeble chip landed straight into the hands of Babar at mid-off. Afridi was not done yet. He then got a short-of-length ball going at Will Young, who struck a powerful pull but Nawaz at short midwicket flung to his right and plucked out a good catch. New Zealand suddenly found themselves in unfamiliar territory at 20 for 3 after 2.4 overs.

It was like a perfect template on how to set up a chase when the team has lost a few wickets early. Phillps was his usual busy self, collecting boundaries and sprinting like a gazelle between wickets. Mitchell was patient, initially, even when the required run rate breached the nine-run mark.

New Zealand managed only 38 runs in the powerplay and reached 70 after ten. But importantly, they did not lose a wicket. Not that they did not give chances. A big moment in the game came in the tenth over when Mitchell mis-hit a sweep off Nawaz to deep backward square leg where Mohammad Wasim misjudged the catch with the ball falling almost at his feet. In the 13th over then, it was Farhan who dropped a dolly at long-on.

Mitchell made sure he cashed in. With the required rated climbing, he got into overdrive finding gaps regularly. From scoring 14 off his first 16, he raced to his fifty off 34 balls with a six off Afridi. Phillips also got his half-century in 41 balls with both batters switching to carnage mode. The Pakistan bowlers looked clueless and the target was eventually achieved with 11 balls to spare.