DUNEDIN: Finn Allen scored his second T20I century and helped New Zealand thump Pakistan by 45 runs in the third T20I to clinch the series at the University Oval on Wednesday.
The hosts attained an unassailable lead of 3-0 in the five-match series.
Allen turned the game on its head with his belligerent hitting from the start after Pakistan invited New Zealand to bat first again.
He lost his opening partner Devon Conway early and was joined by Tim Seifert, who replaced injured captain Kane Williamson in their lineup.
Allen was the core aggressor during their 125-run partnership for the third wicket, scoring 83 runs from 38 balls, completing his century in the process.
Meanwhile, Seifert scored 23-ball 31 before he was caught by Saim Ayub at deep midwicket off Mohammad Wasim Jnr’s well-directed bouncer.
Allen continued the onslaught, becoming the first batter to hit 10 or more sixes against Pakistan in a T20I game.
He finished his innings as the highest individual score by a New Zealand player, scoring 137 runs from 62 balls with the help of a whopping 16 sixes and five boundaries.
Zaman Khan got the prized scalp of Finn Allen, which opened the way for Pakistan bowlers to make a brief comeback in the last few overs, slipping New Zealand from 203-4 to 221-7.
The hosts ended up scoring 224 runs in their allocated 20 overs, with Glenn Phillips (19) being the only notable contributor after Allen’s wicket.
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Haris Rauf picked two wickets at the expense of 60 runs from his four overs.
While chasing a mammoth 225-run target, Pakistan lost opening batter Saim Ayub (10) with 23 runs on the board.
Mohammad Rizwan (24) and Babar Azam then added 39 runs for the second wicket before New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner removed the former.
Fakhar Zaman (19) and Azam Khan (10) added 33 and 20 runs with Babar Azam, but the required run rate kept rocketing.
Babar Azam scored his third consecutive half-century, scoring a total of 58 off 37 with the help of eight boundaries and one six before Ish Sodhi sent him back.
Mohammad Nawaz and captain Shaheen Afridi added a quick 40 runs but the required run rate was too much to catch on.
Nawaz scored 28 off 15, while Afridi remained unbeaten at 16 off 11 as Pakistan were managed 179-7 in 20 overs.
Tim Southee led the bowling with the figures of 2-29, while Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Santner and Sodhi picked one wicket each.
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