Nawaz slams maiden ton as Pakistan chase 205 in 16 overs

By Srinidhi Ramanujam, Mar 21 (ESPNCRICINFO): Pakistan's high-risk, high-reward tactics finally bore fruit after two failed attempts as the Salman Agha-led side stormed to a nine-wicket victory against New Zealand in an enthralling battle that saw 411 runs being amassed at Eden Park. Hasan Nawaz's maiden T20I century outplayed Mark Chapman's 94 as Pakistan chased down 205 in just 16 overs and kept the five-match series alive at 1-2.

Pakistan 207 for 1 (Nawaz 105*, Agha 51*, Haris 41) beat New Zealand 204 (Chapman 94, Bracewell 31, Rauf 3-29) by nine wickets

Pakistan backed their new openers Nawaz and Mohammed Haris in the post-Mohammed Rizwan-Babar Azam era and they repaid the faith by putting up a 74-run opening stand off just 35 balls to lay the perfect foundation for the chase. Salman capitalised on the flying start to score 51 not out and was involved in an unbroken 133-run second-wicket stand. Nawaz, who was coming off two successive ducks, blazed away the fastest hundred by a Pakistan batter in T20Is, off just 44 balls, in a sensational chase.

Chapman powers New Zealand

Chapman's blistering knock-off just 44 balls set New Zealand up for what seemed like an above-par total at the innings break. After losing Finn Allen for a three-ball duck in the first over by Shaheen Shah Afridi, Tim Seifert (19 off nine) and Chapman pushed New Zealand past early jitters. Seifert fell to Haris Rauf in the fifth over but Chapman didn't slow down.

He pulled and hooked the short balls, brought out beautiful cover drives against seamers and punished loose deliveries from Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan. He brought up his fourth half-century against Pakistan off 29 balls. This was also his first T20I fifty in almost a year.

Pakistan got the much-needed breakthrough in the tenth over when Daryl Mitchell (17 off 11) chased a wide delivery of Shadab and miscued to Rauf. Chapman kept finding boundaries, however, even when Pakistan captain Agha brought himself on and leaked 13 runs off his only over.

His strong bottom hand and exceptional placement saw him smash 11 fours and four sixes. He was eventually deceived by an Afridi slower ball in the 13th over.

Pakistan fought back with quick wickets including two double-wicket overs from Rauf and Abrar but Michael Bracewell's 31 off 18 ensured New Zealand crossed 200.

Pakistan's blazing start to chase

After two disappointing outings, Haris and Nawaz gave the visitors a dream start. Haris began with two sixes off Kyle Jamieson's first over of the innings and followed it up with two fours against Jacob Duffy. Nawaz had a tough time early on with his timing but still found boundaries through streaky edges. Pakistan reached their joint-fastest team fifty in men's T20Is, in four overs.

Duffy removed Haris for a 20-ball 41 with a bouncer in the sixth over and Pakistan ended the phase with 75 for 1, their highest powerplay total in men's T20Is, moving past the 73 they scored against England in 2016.

Nawaz takes off, Agha supports

Nawaz rode his luck but made sure to hang around. He was not particularly convincing against short balls early on but he was able to see the balls more clearly as the innings progressed. Though he started the chase playing second fiddle to Haris, Nawaz took charge after the powerplay.

His first confident strike came against Ish Sodhi in the seventh over, when he picked a loopy googly and clubbed it over long-on for a six. He brought up his maiden T20I fifty off 26 balls in the ninth over and propelled Pakistan to 124 for 1 at the halfway stage.

Nawaz was dropped on 68 by Sodhi off Ben Sears' bowling but New Zealand couldn't do much on a batting-friendly pitch with dew also making the task hard for the bowlers. Nawaz eventually hammered ten fours and seven sixes in his 45-ball stay.

Unlike Nawaz, Agha was precise and clever in his batting that fetched him six fours and two sixes. The duo scored 65 runs in the last four overs of the chase to take the team home early.

Nawaz brought up his century off the penultimate ball, before Pakistan completed the fastest 200-plus chase in men's T20Is.