Courtesy: Google
James Neesham, the New Zealand all-rounder, picked up a five-wicket haul for the first-time in T20I career during the fifth and final match of the series against Pakistan at the Sky Stadium in Wellington. The 34-year-old picked up the five wickets during the second half of Pakistan innings after the three recognised pacers in the New Zealand playing XI inflicted early damage on the batting lineup, and with that, the hosts are favourites to take the five-match T20I series with a 4-1 scoreline.
The first of the five wickets for James Neesham came in the 11th over of the Pakistan innings as he got the better of Abdul Samad for four runs in nine balls after New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell had put the opposition into bat first. Following that, the right-arm pacer broke the key partnership between Pakistan captain Salman Agha and Shadab Khan, taking the wicket of the latter after he had scored 28 runs in 20 balls with five fours.
In the same over, James Neesham dismissed Jahanabad Khan cheaply before sending Salman Agha back into the pavilion for 51 runs in 39 balls with six fours and one maximum. On the final ball of his spell, the New Zealand veteran managed to dismiss tailender Sufiyan Muqeem for zero, to pick up the five-wicket haul while conceding just 22 runs in his four overs.
Below are the playing XIs of New Zealand and Pakistan for the fifth T20I match:
Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (c), Mohammad Haris (wk), Hasan Nawaz, Omair Bin Yousuf, Usman Khan, Shadab Khan, Abdul Samad, Jahandad Khan, Haris Rauf, Sufyan Moqim, Mohammad Ali
New Zealand: Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Mitch Hay (wk), Michael Bracewell (c), Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy, Ben Sears, Will O'Rourke
