Courtesy: Google
Finn Allen, the New Zealand opener, smashed a fifty in just 19 balls against Pakistan in the fourth T20I of the five-match series at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. The right-handed batter was severe with the bat in hand on the Pakistan spinners, namely Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan, smashing them for boundaries at will, and in the process, he provided a fantastic start to the BlackCaps in the first half of their innings.
After watching fellow opener Tim Seifert get off to a flyer in the power play overs from the other end, Finn Allen took control of the New Zealand innings against the spinners of Pakistan. He hit two fours and one six from the Abrar Ahmed over before collecting 20 runs in just four balls against Shadab Khan, smashing a couple of fours and followed it up with two sixes, which put New Zealand in a commanding position at the halfway stage with 134/2 on the board.
The start of the 11th over of the BlackCaps innings was the end of Finn Allen’s innings on the bowling of Abbas Afridi as Hasan Nawaz took a good catch after he scored 50 runs in 20 balls with six fours and three sixes. With the series in favour of New Zealand at 2-1 after the completion of the first three matches, Pakistan will need to restrict the hosts to a total around 200, which will give them a fighting chance to force a decider.
Below are the playing XIs of New Zealand and Pakistan for the fourth T20I in Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui:
New Zealand: Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Mitch Hay (wk), Michael Bracewell (c), Ish Sodhi, Zakary Foulkes, Jacob Duffy, Will O'Rourke
Pakistan: Mohammad Haris (wk), Hasan Nawaz, Salman Ali Agha (c), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Shadab Khan, Abdul Samad, Khushdil Shah, Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
