That was in contrast from the first five overs of their innings, dominated by opener Colin Munro's 42-ball 58 with three sixes and six boundaries. Pakistan's varied bowling, led by Hasan Ali with 3-35, pulled them back significantly. Munro opened up in style, hiting two sixes and a four off Imad Wasim's fifth over of the innings before greeting Hasan with a six and a boundary to complete New Zealand's fifty in just 5.4 overs.

But Pakistan dismissed Glenn Phillips (12), Munro, captain Kane Williamson (11) and Colin de Grandhomme (six) as New Zealand stalled at 89-4. Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed praised his team's 'never-say-die' approach in bowling. "New Zealand are a tough team, but we knew overs 6-12 were crucial and we had to restrict them there," said Sarfraz. "I thought Shaheen and Hasan were superb and we were once again led admirably by bowlers." Williamson believed his team came close to victory. "We weren't far away, I thought we were quite good for large parts," said Williamson.

Poll

Who will win the Punjab Elections?

BJP 32.86%

AAP 41.43%

INC 25.71%

Submit

View All In Poll

"Pakistan pulled back after Munro's knock -- they are world number one for a reason." Earlier, Pakistan lost in-form Babar Azam for seven in the third over while Sahibzada Farhan fell for one as they struggled to 10-2 before Hafeez and Asif Ali (24) lifted them during their 67-run stand for the third wicket.

Hafeez hit five boundaries and a six in his 36-ball knock while Asif's 21-ball innings had a six and a boundary. Pakistan managed 81 runs in the last ten overs with Sarfraz chipping in with a 26-ball 34 which had three boundaries and a six. Imad Wasim smashed a six and boundary in the last over to finish with 14 not out while Faheem Ashraf made 10 not out. For New Zealand, pace bowler Adam Milne finished with 2-28 while Ajaz Patel, Ish Sodhi and de Grandhomme took a wicket apiece.

Catch up on all the latest T20 news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever