By Karan Agrawal 
Pakistan won the third match of the five-match T20I series against New Zealand at Eden Park on Friday courtesy of a breathtaking batting performance by the Pakistani batters led by the opening duo of Mohammad Harris and Hasan Nawaz who gave the team an aggressive start in pursuit of a tricky score of 205 runs. Harris and Nawaz added 74 runs for the first wicket in 5.5 overs and repaid the faith shown in them by captain Salman Agha despite failing miserably in the first couple of matches. Harris was more aggressive of the two as the wicketkeeper batter took on the New Zealand bowlers in the powerplay and made full use of a pitch that assisted the batters by scoring 41 runs off 20 balls. Nawaz on the other hand started cautiously but picked up pace as the inning progressed and scored an unbeaten century to guide the team home.
The Catch
Pakistani bowlers did a decent job by restricting New Zealand to a par total of 204 runs with Haris Rauf being the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3 for 29 in 4 overs but it was his catch to dismiss opener Finn Allen that stole the limelight. Known more for his bowling Haris took an outstanding catch diving to his right in the first over of the match. What made the catch more special was the speed at which the ball was coming towards Haris who anticipated it, timed his dive to perfection, and took an absolute blinder to dismiss Allen who possesses an excellent record against Pakistan including a century that he scored against them in January last year. Harris’ catch ensured that the Salman Agha-led side restricted New Zealand to 204.
Captain’s Corner
Pakistan now trails the five-match T20I series 2-1 with two games to go. Captain Salman Agha seemed elated after the win and said that it was a complete team effort. In the words of Agha, “Outstanding performance. Proper game we have played, the bowlers started really well and then the two youngsters batted really well. If you back the youngsters they will do well like today. 200 is a par score on this, good wicket and I just said to the guys we can chase this down if you bat well. The bowlers did really well, restricting them to 200 was a very good effort from the bowlers and I’m very happy. It was do or die and we just wanted to go out and enjoy ourselves today. Looking forward to the next game as well.” Both teams will now to Mount Maunganui for the fourth T20I scheduled to be played on Sunday (March 23).