Elliott Smith: Black Caps v Pakistan - Mark Chapman inspires New Zealand to emphatic bounceback victory

The Black Caps have responded in style, as Mark Chapman inspired New Zealand to a series-levelling seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in Rawalpindi.

Just 24 hours after being bowled out for 90 to lose by seven wickets at the same venue, a heavily depleted Black Caps side flipped the script on their hosts, and chased down their target of 179 runs with ease.

That chase was anchored by an unbeaten 87 from Chapman, who continued his love affair with Pakistan after being named man-of-the-series in New Zealand’s 2-2 draw just over a year ago.

Arriving at the crease at 53/2, Chapman scored a 29-ball half-century, and added a 117-run partnership with Dean Foxcroft (31 off 29) to all but get the Black Caps home.

New Zealand’s win was made all the more impressive by the fact the squad was depleted even further, as neither Ben Lister nor Josh Clarkson travelled to the ground after being struck by illness.

As captain Michael Bracewell won the toss and opted to field first, the stand-in skipper would have been forgiven for ruing his decision as Pakistan made 178/4 from their 20 overs.

While no Pakistan batter passed 50, partnerships of 55 between openers Babar Azam (37 off 29) and Saim Ayub (32 off 22) and 62 between Shadab Khan (41 off 20) and Irfan Khan (30 not out off 20) made up the bulk of the total.

Ish Sodhi was the pick of the Kiwi attack, and took 2/25 from his four overs, as the rest of New Zealand’s attack struggled to contain Pakistan. The pair of Zak Foulkes and Will O’Rourke both went wicketless in their first taste of the shortest format at international level.

In reply, New Zealand’s openers got off to their best start of the series, as Tim Seifert (21 off 16) and Tim Robinson (28 off 19) added 42 for the first wicket.

Once they fell, though, the pair of Chapman and Foxcroft took over.

In 42 balls, the pair added a 50 stand, but needed just 17 more to raise their century partnership as Chapman took over. The left-hander plundered nine boundaries and four sixes in his innings, and reached his seventh T20 international fifty in the process.

Once Foxcroft went, though, caught and bowled by Abbas Afridi, New Zealand needed just nine runs from more than three overs.

And after Jimmy Neesham found the rope with the final ball of the 18th over, Chapman sealed the win at the start of the 19th, and at the very least ensured the new-look Black Caps won’t leave Pakistan empty-handed.

Both teams will now enjoy three days off, as the series relocates from Rawalpindi to Lahore for games four and five.

Alex Powell is an Online Sports Editor for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.

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