They played like kings of the game smashing bowlers to every part of the ground. Yeah! That’s the true colour of the Pakistani cricket team as they bamboozled the high-flying New Zealanders with a swashbuckling reply in the third T20I played at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday, beating them by nine wickets, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Set a target of 205-run to win, Pakistani batters blasted the Kiwi attack right from the word go and achieved the target with four overs to spare. Pakistan scored 207 runs in 16 overs.
Mohammad Haris made quickfire 41 runs off 20 balls but his partner Hasan Nawaz displayed some outclass power hitting smashing every Kiwi bowler all around the ground and scoring unbeaten 105 runs off 45 balls studded with seven sixes and 10 fours.
Captain Salman Agha hit unbeaten 51 runs off 31 balls studded with two sixes and six fours.
Opener Hasan Nawaz struck a record-breaking maiden century as Pakistan crushed New Zealand by nine wickets in the third Twenty20 to keep the series alive.
After scoring a duck in each of the two opening games -- the first innings' of his international career - Nawaz rebounded with a stunning 105 not out in Auckland as the tourists raced to 207-1 in response to New Zealand's 204.
The 23-year-old's ton came off 44 balls, the fastest by any Pakistan player in a T20 international.
It ensured his team reached the target with four full overs to spare, in a stark reversal of form after heavy losses in Christchurch and Dunedin.
Nawaz put his early failures behind him with a sparkling knock featuring shots all around the wicket, including a series of audacious ramp shots.
He admitted he was worried about his selection prospects after two failures and thanked captain Salman Agha and vice-captain Shadab Khan for showing faith in his ability.
"The way I got out in the first two matches, I was very disheartened, but the captain and Shadab supported me, told me I am a match-winning player and that helped me," he said.
"I wanted to score my first run in international cricket, that's what I was thinking. After I scored one run, the pressure was released and I wanted to win the game."
The right-hander peppered the short Eden Park boundaries with 10 fours and seven sixes, bringing up victory with successive fours off Kyle Jamieson in the 16th over.
The first of those shots took Nawaz to 100, five balls faster than the previous Pakistan record-holder - Babar Azam against South Africa in 2021.
Fellow opener Mohammad Haris scored 41 off 20 while captain Salman Agha was unbeaten on 51 off 31.
New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell conceded they had few answers to halt Nawaz. "You've got to tip your hat to Nawaz there, the way that he played was unbelievable," Bracewell said.
"It's pretty tough to defend out here but when a guy plays like that, it's really tough."
Earlier, Mark Chapman struck a blistering 94 Friday as New Zealand scored 204 in the third Twenty20 against Pakistan and moved into a strong position to clinch the five-match series.
The tourists will need to score 205 to win in Auckland and reverse their fortunes after heavy losses in the first two games.
Chapman dominated after New Zealand were asked to bat, taking advantage of the small Eden Park boundaries as he tallied 11 fours and four sixes from just 44 balls faced.
The left-hander fell agonisingly short of a second T20 century when he mistimed a slower ball from Shaheen Shah Afridi and was caught at short third man.
The rest of the home side's batsmen struggled to get going, aside from captain Michael Bracewell's 31, as they were dismissed from the penultimate ball.
Experienced seamer Haris Rauf bowled Bracewell and finished with Pakistan's best figures of 3-29.
Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed and seamer Abbas Afridi, who both missed Tuesday's game two loss in Dunedin, justified their recalls by taking two wickets each.
New Zealand made one change, recalling Kyle Jamieson in place of fellow seamer Zak Foulkes.
Jamieson took three wickets when New Zealand won the opening match by nine wickets in Christchurch.