NZ outlast Pakistan to win 4th T20I

Agency :
Experienced all-rounder Jimmy Neesham kept his cool to defend six off the last ball to clinch a four-run victory for New Zealand (NZ) on Thursday in the fourth Twenty20 International (T20I) against Pakistan in Lahore.

Pakistan needed 18 off the last over in their chase of 179 but Neesham came out on top despite being hit for a boundary off the first ball, leaving a packed Gaddafi Stadium crowd heartbroken.

Opener Tim Robinson hit a maiden half-century to lift New Zealand to 178-7 in 20 overs before pacer William O’Rourke claimed 3-27 to help restrict Pakistan to 174-8.

Returning all-rounder Imad Wasim (22 not out) could only hit the last ball for a single as New Zealand took an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match series with the last game on Saturday, also in Lahore.

Pakistan lost the third match by seven wickets after winning the second by the same margin, while the first match was abandoned after just two balls-all three in Rawalpindi.

The defeats are a jolt to a full-strength Pakistan side in their preparations for the Twenty20 World Cup to be held in the United States and West Indies in June.

New Zealand, missing a host of players due to the Indian Premier League, injuries and unavailability, will draw confidence from their strength in depth going into the World Cup.

Pakistan sensed they were in with a chance when Fakhar Zaman, who hit 61 off 45 balls, lifted Pakistan from 79-4 with a 59-run stand for the fifth wicket with Iftikhar Ahmed (23).

But O’Rourke, playing only his fourth T20I, dismissed Ahmed to add to his wickets of Babar Azam (five) and Saim Ayub (20) to boost New Zealand.