‘It’s basically Pakistan vs Finn Allen this T20I series’ – Fans mock Pakistan’s bowling after a blistering 137 by Finn Allen in Dunedin

Finn Allen surpassed Brendon McCullum (123  against Bangladesh in 2012) as the player with the highest score by a New Zealander in the shortest format of the game, Allen also equalled the world record for most sixes in a T20 International match with 16 sixes to propel New Zealand to a 45-run victory against Pakistan in the third T20 International in Dunedin on Wednesday.

New Zealand opener Finn Allen thrashed a record-breaking 137 off 62 deliveries as New Zealand set Pakistan a 225-run target in the third T20I against Pakistan in Dunedin on Wednesday. In the process, Allen went past Brendon McCullum as the player with the highest score by a Kiwi in the shortest format of the game. He also equalled the world record of 16 sixes in an innings held by Afghanistan’s Hazratullah Zazai. He hit Pakistan star Haris Rauf for 27 in an over.

The Black Caps are without their regular captain Kane Williamson, who was already scheduled to be rested for the third t20 and will now miss the remainder of the series because of his hamstring injury. New Zealand stand-in captain Mitchell Santner said he probably would have bowled first as well but still expected a high-scoring performance. With that win, The hosts also lead the five-match series by 3-0 and will look to clinch the series with a 5-0 whitewash.

Kiwis seal the series by 3-0 against Pakistan

New Zealand scored 224/7 in their 20 overs but Pakistan could only manage 179/7 as the Kiwis sealed the five-match series 3-0. Allen assaulted the Pakistan bowlers, hitting spinner Mohammad Nawaz for a couple of sixes in the ninth over. Rauf suffered also at the hands of Allen, who smashed him for three sixes in a row in the 12th over before a six and a boundary off Afridi in the next over saw him race past his century off just 48 balls. It continued to rain sixes as Allen hit Nawaz for two consecutive sixes in the 15th over and repeated the dose on pacer Mohammad Wasim Jr in the following over before was dismissed by Zaman Khan in the 18th over.

For Pakistan, Babar Azam was the lone batter to challenge the Kiwis as he hit a quickfire 58 from 37 balls, his third fifty in a row but nothing from the rest. After the first two T20Is, Pakistan won the toss and again elected to bowl first in the third Twenty20 international against New Zealand.

Blackcaps’ win will seal the five-match series for the hosts, who comfortably won the first two games by 46 and 21 runs respectively. Pakistan’s new T20 Skipper, Shaheen Shah Afridi won the toss for the first two games and bowled first as well, This time he said the overcast conditions were in his favour. “I think we’re ready,” he said of the need to win and keep the series alive.