‘Pakistan ke match k liye kaun jagta h yr’ – Fans react as New Zealand beat Pakistan by four runs in thriller 3rd T20I

After winning the first two matches of their five-match T20I series against New Zealand, Pakistan hosted the third match at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The visitors needed to win the game to keep their chances of winning the series alive. As it turned out, they won the thriller by a razor-thin margin of four runs.

Batting first, New Zealand posted a total of 163/5 in their allotted 20 overs, thanks to a half-century by Tom Latham. The stand-in captain led the team from the front and scored 64 runs in 49 balls, which included seven boundaries and two sixes. The opener received little help from his teammates, as only one other batter scored more than 30 runs in the game.

Darryl Mitchell, with 33 runs in 26 balls, was the second-highest scorer of the innings. The Kiwis would have expected more from their batting unit on a surface that looked decent to bat on. For the hosts, Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf took two wickets each, while Shadab Khan took a solitary.

Ifthikar Ahmed shines in the chase

Pakistan’s chase got off to a shaky start, as they lost both openers for a total of 17 runs in the fourth over. Mohammad Rizwan scored 6 runs in 10 balls, while Babar Azam scored 1 run in 6 balls. They continued to lose wickets at regular intervals till Ifthikar Ahmed stepped in to bat at number 8.

With a stunning 24-ball 60, Ahmed drew Pakistan back into the game from 88-7 as they sought to chase down New Zealand’s total. Despite Ahmed’s superb effort, all-rounder James Neesham held his nerve in the final over to give New Zealand a dramatic four-run victory.

Needing 15 off his final over to win, Ahmed smashed a six and a four to reduce the target to five off the last three deliveries. However, Neesham had Ahmed caught at long-on by Daryl Mitchell and then removed last man Haris Rauf in the same fashion after a dot ball to get the win.

Here is how Twitter reacted to New Zealand’s win

https://twitter.com/Rainbowsalts91/status/1648154781792477185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1648154781792477185%7Ctwgr%5E1d507718c892d70b4fa6c82c36da337acee3a6ed%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FRainbowsalts912Fstatus2F1648154781792477185widget%3DTweet

https://twitter.com/iMShami__/status/1648029310572466176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1648029310572466176%7Ctwgr%5E9d6a991b521f8997a0c36fb4d33995bd64c78eb4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FiMShami__2Fstatus2F1648029310572466176widget%3DTweet

One minute down, Next Minute Up. Pakistan cricket at it’s BEST.#PAKvsNZ pic.twitter.com/jsgSz2TFJr

— Avinash Aryan (@AvinashArya09) April 17, 2023

https://twitter.com/Adnan1ASSM/status/1648194167774892033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1648194167774892033%7Ctwgr%5E804cb8648a34ff7f9f063dcbbfb788290a3009ff%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FAdnan1ASSM2Fstatus2F1648194167774892033widget%3DTweet

I will take professional action if PCB drops me again – Imad Wasim

( before the start of the series)#PAKvsNZ pic.twitter.com/gdncaqnoAs

— Avinash Aryan (@AvinashArya09) April 17, 2023

https://twitter.com/PCT__FanGirl/status/1648053419758833666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1648053419758833666%7Ctwgr%5Ee1984de64fc886cd1c4cecc598842f5fa34ed0ff%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FPCT__FanGirl2Fstatus2F1648053419758833666widget%3DTweet

https://twitter.com/imtheguy07/status/1648026197677473792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1648026197677473792%7Ctwgr%5Ee6dcf21659321182a2d648cfbb37fc5276ee7d4b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2Fimtheguy072Fstatus2F1648026197677473792widget%3DTweet

https://twitter.com/kingbabararmy/status/1648054542939070464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1648054542939070464%7Ctwgr%5E53f7bd8f6b9c8f11b390b07aa0c81a40f7b365d7%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2Fkingbabararmy2Fstatus2F1648054542939070464widget%3DTweet

Pakistan ke match k liye kaun jagta h yr. Btw neesham used slower balls well

— Goliath (@PitchingOutside) April 17, 2023

https://twitter.com/King3678180/status/1648050835551842304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1648050835551842304%7Ctwgr%5E95711a5e05e999469a83fdebdede928ca2b1acb3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FKing36781802Fstatus2F1648050835551842304widget%3DTweet