NZ crush Pak to seal T20I series 3-1

Jacob Duffy took four wickets as the visitors were bowled out for 105

New Zealand's fast bowlers crushed Pakistan in swinging conditions and set up a massive 115-run win to help the home side clinch the series 3-1 with a match to spare at the Bay Oval on Sunday.

The Men in Green were bowled out for just 105 chasing a mammoth 221-run target under lights. The last dead-rubber to be played on Wednesday at the Sky Stadium in Wellington.

Jacob Duffy made early inroads, picking up three wickets inside the powerplay to dent Pakistan and they never recovered from the top-order collapse.

Pakistan's chase never took off with New Zealand troubling them with swing and seam on offer. Unlike the game in Auckland, Pakistan couldn't take advantage of the dew factor.

The chase began with Will O'Rourke, playing his first match of the series, removing Mohammed Haris with an excellent delivery, Duffy then dismissed Hasan Nawaz and captain Salman Agha in the second over to dent the visitors.

Zakary Foulkes also struck instantly, as he cleaned up Shadab Khan in his first ball with an inswinger.

Eventually, Pakistan lost eight wickets for 56 runs. The game was all but over at the halfway stage of the chase even though the No.7 Abdul Samad fought a lone battle with his 30-ball 44.

Duffy came back for his final over and added one more wicket to his tally to end with 4 for 20 while Foulkes scalped three overall.

Earlier, after being asked to bat first, Finn Allen top-scored with a 20-ball fifty and cameos from Tim Seifert and Michael Bracewell powered New Zealand to 220 for 6. New Zealand made the intent clear from the beginning as they raced to 79 for 1 in the powerplay. Even though there was a slowdown in the middle overs, New Zealand managed to post their second straight 200-plus total in the series, which proved too much for the visitors.

Pakistan's bowling attack, led by Shaheen Afridi, struggled to stem the flow of runs.

However, Haris Rauf provided a much-needed breakthrough by dismissing the dangerous Tim Seifert for 44 off 22 balls.

Despite the dismissal, Finn Allen maintained the momentum, adding 49 runs with Mark Chapman. Rauf struck again, removing Chapman for 24 off 16 balls, reducing New Zealand to 108-2 in 8.1 overs.

Allen continued his blistering assault, reaching fifty in just 19 deliveries. However, his innings ended at 50 off 20 balls when Abbas Afridi's short delivery induced a top edge, caught by Hasan Nawaz at 134-3 in 10.1 overs.

New Zealand then faced a mini-collapse, losing James Neesham and Daryl Mitchell cheaply to Abrar Ahmed, slipping to 149-5 in 13.2 overs.

However, a counter-attacking 68-run partnership between Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner boosted the total. Rauf struck again to dismiss Santner for 29 at 205-6 in 18.2 overs.

Bracewell's unbeaten 46 off 26 balls guided New Zealand to a formidable total. Rauf finished with three wickets, while Abrar Ahmed and Abbas Afridi shared the rest.

Rauf was the only Pakistan bowler to leak fewer than ten runs an over in the fourth T20I, as he returned 3 for 27 from his four overs.