Third Twenty20 International between New Zealand and Pakistan: Babar Azam’s achievement, Finn Allen’s searing blow, and other numbers

In the third Twenty20 International of Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand, Finn Allen’s merciless hitting (137 off 62) helped the hosts post a massive total of 224/7. A clinical bowling performance ensured a 45-run victory for the Black Caps. Interestingly, Pakistan chose to field first after winning the toss. Nevertheless, the move proved costly as New Zealand amassed an impressive 224 for 7 in the 20 overs that they were given.

Fin Allen stole the show with a spectacular century (137 off 62 balls). With five fours and an astounding sixteen sixes in his blazing innings, Tim Seifert (31 off 23) and Glenn Phillips (19 off 15) provided excellent support. Haris Rauf had a forgettable day, giving up an incredible 60 runs in his four overs.

Babar Azam top-scored with a well-constructed 58 off 37 balls, which included eight fours and a six, in response to New Zealand’s formidable 224-7. The other hitters did not contribute much, but Mohammad Nawaz (28 off 15) and Mohammad Rizwan (24 off 20) did contribute a little. In the end, Pakistan was bowled out for 179/7 in their 20 overs. New Zealand’s best bowler, Tim Southee, claimed two wickets for 29 runs in his four overs. Finn Allen was rightfully named Player of the Match for his game-winning strike of 137 runs off 62 balls.

In the interim, the following significant figures and data from the third Twenty20 International between Pakistan and New Zealand:

3 – Finn Allen’s lightning-fast century in 48 balls is the third-fastest in T20I history for a Black Caps hitter. Glenn Phillips holds the record, having scored a century in just 46 balls when playing the West Indies in 2020. With a century off 47 balls against the same opposition in 2018, Colin Munro is ranked second.

226/8: Against Pakistan in T20 internationals, New Zealand scored 224/7, their second-highest total. Their highest score to far is still 226/8, which they obtained earlier this year in Auckland.

40: In the seventh wicket, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Nawaz combined for 40 runs, the highest partnership for Pakistan in Twenty20 Internationals in that position. This achievement exceeded the previous best of 38 runs, which was achieved in a match against India in Durban in 2007 by Misbah-ul-Haq and Yasir Arafat.

16 – Finn Allen’s 16 sixes throughout his innings tie the record for most sixes in a Twenty20 International innings, which was set in 2019 by Afghanistan’s Hazratullah Zazai against Ireland.

3-Finn Allen finished fourth in the record of batters with the most runs scored off boundaries in a Twenty20 International innings with his incredible 137 runs, 116 of which came from boundaries (16 sixes and five fours).

3 – Babar Azam has astonishingly amassed three half-centuries in this current series, all of which have come in losing situations. This ties him with Nicholas Pooran’s 2022 achievement against India for the most fifty-plus scores in losing causes in a bilateral series by a full-member player.

1-Finn Allen’s incredible 137 is the highest score a New Zealand hitter has ever scored in Twenty20 internationals. This surpasses the previous mark of 123, which was set in Pallekele in 2012 by Brendon McCullum against Bangladesh.

116-Finn Allen has broken Brendon McCullum’s previous record of 96 runs in boundaries against Australia in 2010 by scoring a record-breaking 116 runs in boundaries in a Twenty20 International innings for New Zealand.

16 – Finn Allen smashed Corey Anderson’s record of 10 sixes in an innings set against Bangladesh in 2017 to shatter the record for most sixes in an innings by a New Zealand player in Twenty20 Internationals.

8 – Babar Azam is tied for the most fifty-plus runs by a player against a single side in Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) after amassing eight fifty-plus scores in more than eighteen innings against New Zealand. He and Virat Kohli, who accomplished it in 21 innings against Australia, share this record.

3 – After Glenn Maxwell (604) and Suryakumar Yadav (573) as the fastest players to attain 1000 T20I runs, Finn Allen did so in 611 balls.

250: Ish Sodhi reached 250 wickets in all game types.