The five-match T20 series was almost won by the hosts Pakistan on Monday (April 17). However, New Zealand won by stopping Iftikhar’s storm in the last over. With this victory, the visitors still survived in the series. New Zealand won the first toss and was elected to bat at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Apart from Tom Latham’s 64 and Mitchell’s 33, no one scored significant runs for the Kiwis. Still, they got a challenging collection of 163 runs. Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi took two wickets each for Pakistan.

In response, Pakistan’s batsmen began to give away wickets at regular intervals to chase runs. However, Iftikhar Ahmed was an exception. He took the team to the verge of victory. His 60 off 24 balls included six sixes and three fours. He could have won the team easily in the last over. But he could not hold the nervous pressure. If the last ball hits the boundary, the match will go into super over. But Haris Rauf returned with a catch after Iftikhar attempted a six and New Zealand got a great win. Although Jimmy Nessam was the hero of the match for New Zealand, the Man of the Match award went to Tom Latham. Nessam took 3 wickets for 38 runs in 4 overs. Milne and Ravindra got two wickets each. The fourth T20 match of the series will be held on April 20.