Pakistan vs New Zealand, 3rd T20I at Rawalpindi, Apr 21 2024 - Match Result

We hope you enjoyed our coverage. The fourth match will be held in Lahore on the 25th of April. This is Rvel Zahid signing off on behalf of the team at Cricinfo. Watch out for Danyal's report. Goodnight!

Pakistan's bowlers had a poor day at the office and were put under pressure by Mark Chapman's onslaught. The swashbuckling southpaw received just enough support to guide his team to the doorstep of victory. The likes of Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah weren't accurate enough and gave too much room in crunch situations. There was a bit of a stutter towards the middle of the innings, and Pakistan fell short of posting an imposing total. A few drops at crucial junctures swung the momentum in favor of New Zealand and they made sure not to botch up the chase. The night belongs to Mark Chapman, though, who played many eye-catching strokes and showed composure while facing one of his favorite opponents

Mark Chapman, Player of the Match: It's always nice to come here, thankfully we have levelled the series today. I think we know Pakistan have a great attack, 178 was as chase-able score, generally it's high scoring here. Debutants bowled some tough overs and Ish was outstanding. Yesterday it was slower and we lost wickets in clumps...you have 100 partnership, you give yourself a good chance to win. The way Siefert and Robinson set it up, we had a platform and we just tried to keep up with the rate, we knew they have a world class attack...

Michael Bracewell, New Zealand Captain: Really happy with the way guys put the learnings from last night...particularly impressed the way two debutants went tonight, big occasion to play in front of a full crowd, it puts us in good stead going forward...I think the way Ish bowled in the middle was outstanding; he has done that for a number of years for New Zealand, the guys right at the backend brought it back. I think the partnership between Foxy and Chapman was outstanding...(appreciates Chapman and his consistency)

Babar Azam, Pakistan Captain: Maybe we were 10 runs short, not easy to get going for a new batter so Rizwan's unavailability proved costly at that stage. 180-190 is a par score. I think we did well in batting. It depends on situation (On Shadab's batting position), he executed the plan and played his natural game. Saim started really well and did what was required. We started well with the ball in first six overs, but when you drop a set batter's catch then he will take away the game from you, Chapman has always done well against us.

New Zealand have sprung a surprise by pulling off a clinical win after that crushing defeat less than 24 hours ago! Chapman was audacious as usual and continues his stellar record in Pakistan. They just needed a couple of partnerships, which they got, and Pakistan panicked in the last 10 overs. Naseem Shah was uncharacteristically off the boil, and Shaheen Afridi leaked plenty

Mudasir shagoo : "40 runs from 2 overs of shaheen and Naseem was the turning point of the match. A captain cant help his team when main bowlers didn't work out for him."

Dr Mirza Zeshan: "Chapman champion. "

Osman: "It is about time Pak team shuffles its batting order and brings in big hitters at the top and stop relying on the 150-180 approach. It no longer works on these flat pitches."

Aizaz: "I hope the think tank would now realise how badly Babar and Rizwan played. On a placid 220 wicket, they played at a strike rate of just over 120, dragging the whole team down. "

Saeed Gopang: "This team is nothing without Aamir and Imad. Mark my words. "

aifi: "Main bowlers going for 20 has become a norm in T20s, what Pakistan have failed to catch up with is the way the bat. They get flat decks and still make them look like a J'burg track. Rizwan and Babar should themselves say goodbye to this format. Let the new team be built. Fans can't defend them blindly and criticise their bowlers for no real reason! "

Aashique : "Babar and Rizwan are to be blamed for this loss they although I'm a Babar fan but this is just not how you bat in modern t20."

Wajahat Hassan: "Once again Pakistan with a defensive, conservative and safety first mindset! Scoring just 178 on a good batting surface led by Babar and Rizwan. I wonder when they will come out of this approach. Even in an irrelevant bilateral T20I series against a depleted bowling attack, they (especially Babar and Rizwan) managed to get bogged down and reached an underpar score. Highly disappointing!"