New Zealand won the T20 International cricket series against Pakistan as they defeated the visitors by heavy margin of nine wickets in the second of the three-match series played at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Sunday. The hosts have won the first two matches and the third is yet to be played. Only opener Martin Guptill got out for 21 as the New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and the other opener Tim Seifert saw their side home in the last over the match. Set 164 runs target to win, the New Zealanders achieved the target in 19.2 overs with Williamson not out on 57 and Seifert unbeaten on 84. Hafeez stranded on 99Earlier, Mohammed Hafeez was left stranded on 99 as Pakistan set New Zealand a 164-run target. Hafeez was out first ball when New Zealand won the opening match on Friday by five wickets, but was the only batsman to find form two days later. In a stay of 57 balls, he peppered the boundary with 10 fours and five sixes as Pakistan reached 163 for six in their 20 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat. Mohammad Rizwan (22) was the only other batsman to pass the 20 mark.
For New Zealand, Tim Southee took four for 21 Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat in the second Twenty20 against New Zealand in Hamilton on Sunday.”It looks to be a very good pitch and we want to get a good score on the board,” said stand-in captain Shadab Khan. Khan also won the toss and opted to bat in the first match only to lose by five wickets at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday. With the injured Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman still not available, the pressure is on Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Hafeez to get runs in Hamilton. “We were rusty in the last game but hopefully we will do better here,” Khan said with Pakistan keeping the same line up. New Zealand have made four changes, with Kane Williamson returning from paternity leave to lead the side and with Test bowlers Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Kyle Jamieson being added. It meant there was no room for Jacob Duffy who, in the first match, produced the best figures by a New Zealand bowler in a Twenty20 debut. “It’s a good surface here usually, we need to do the job first up with the ball,” Williamson said. “It was a good performance at Eden Park and it’s important that we stick to our plans and adapt to the new conditions.”
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