It was a run-fest at the University Oval Ground in Dunedin as New Zealand put on a mammoth target of 225 runs in the 3rd T20I of the five-match series on the back of a record-breaking innings of 137 runs by opener Finn Allen. In response to the target, Pakistan only managed to put 179 runs on the board and eventually went on to lose the match by 45 runs.
With this victory, New Zealand has taken an unassailable lead of 3-0 in the series. Pakistan won the toss and once more opted to field first in the third Twenty20 international against New Zealand. A victory for the Blackcaps would secure the five-match series for the home team, having convincingly won the first two games by 46 and 21 runs, respectively.
New Zealand entered the match without the services of Kane Williamson who got injured in the last match and was ruled out of the series. Mitchell Santner will be taking the captaincy series in the remainder of the series.
Fin Allen show in Dunedin
Only the coin toss went in the favor of Pakistan and after that, it was all Finn Allen's show who smocked a sensational innings of 137 runs in just 62 deliveries. What was more amazing in his innings was that he hit only 5 fours in his innings but amassed 16 sixes and equalled the record of 16 sixes in an inning previously held only by Afghanistan's Hazratullah Zazai.
Allen also broke Brendon Mcullum's record of the highest individual score in a T20I inning by a Kiwi batter. He also smashed Pakistan's speedster Haris Rauf for 27 runs in an over who ended with a figure of 4-0-60-2 in the match.
Pakistan lost both their openers cheaply and never looked like they were in the chase. For Pakistan, only Babar Azam was able to fight it out a bit in the middle with knock third consecutive half-century in the series. He went on to make 58 runs in his innings with a strike rate of 156.76.
Fans from around the world enjoyed the spectacle put on by Finn Allen with his monstrous hitting and expressed their views on it on social media. Here are some of the tweets from the fans on X:
Absolutely Beast of T20'S
— Gautam Rajveer (@GautamRajveer22) January 17, 2024
Fabulous Allen 😻😍
Finn Allen Owned Pakistan 😂❤️🔥🔥
— TwiterTillu (@TwiterTilu) January 17, 2024
And tied the World Record for sixes
— Graham Farmer (@gravyonsports) January 17, 2024
Well played young man 👍👏
— Sports by IA (@SportsbyIA) January 17, 2024
He was great in this series ✌️
— Shehbaz Ahmad (@IshehbazAhmad) January 17, 2024
What an inning Finn Allen..
— мαη∂αℓσяιαη•𝑽̰𝑲̰¹⁸𓃵🏏💯𝕏⁸⁰🦏 (@FLICKsh0tKING18) January 17, 2024
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽🙌
🥇 Highest individual score for New Zealand in men's T20Is
— Ѕααd (@SaadDogar77) January 17, 2024
🔥 Joint-most sixes in an innings in men's T20Is (16!)
Finn Allen was at his destructive best against Pakistan 🤯
#NZvPAK pic.twitter.com/MoWlQBoR2e