Shahid Afridi won the toss in this second and final match and his side batted first. The openers put on 40 in 4.3 overs before last match hero Imran Nazir got bowled by Butler for a 12-ball 19. Butler then went on to remove Kamran Akmal (26 from 22) just a couple of overs after Nazir’s wicket. Pakistan fought back after this phase through Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi. The Pakistan Skipper came up with a 17-ball 22 while Umar Akmal stayed right till the end with an unbeaten 56 from 49 balls with 5 fours and a six. The youngster also picked up the Man of the Match for this responsible knock. Butler did well for the Kiwis taking 3 for 28.

The Kiwis were off to a dull start with 46 for 2 on the board in 8.1 overs. Skipper Brendon McCullum restrained himself from playing the flashy innings and tried to guide New Zealand through to victory. But he fell in the penultimate over with still 22 needed to win from 10 balls. McCullum scored 47 from 41 balls with 3 fours and a six. Scott Styris chipped in with 43 from 33 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes but couldn’t finish the game in New Zealand’s favour. The Kiwis finished at a pale 146 for 5. The Pakistani Captain Shahid Afridi was named as the Player of the Series.

The Black Caps were a weakened unit going into this match with Skipper Daniel Vettori opting out because of showing the after effects of taking a blow around his ear from a Mohammad Aamer bouncer in the 2nd ODI. The New Zealanders did well to keep Pakistan down to 56 for 2 in 8 overs after removing the Akmal Brothers cheaply. Imran Nazir at one end was doing all the damage with his crisp hitting but the opener couldn’t go beyond a 38-ball 58 (with 5 fours and 4 sixes). Skipper Shahid Afridi clouted a six over long on but his innings was just a cameo with 24 from 16 balls. Apart from Nazir and Afridi, there weren’t any scores coming in from the rest of the batsmen.

Pakistan had a good couple of last overs thanks to Razzaq (26* from 15 balls) and Sohail Tanvir (12 from 8 balls). Shane Bond was the pick of the bowlers giving away just 17 besides taking two wickets in his 4 overs. Aaron Redmond with his flighted leg breaks took the important wickets of Afridi and Malik but in the course also strained his groin.

After a sorry first over that went for 17 runs, Mohammad Aamer along with Sohali Tanvir struck back to make inroads for Pakistan. The inform Brendon McCullum who was leading the side got out square driving after a 13-ball 19 and was followed by Ross Taylor who got out to another loose cut shot. Pakistan kept on getting wickets regularly and the job for the spinners became too easy. The Kiwis were bowled out for 112 in 18.3 overs with regular opener Aaron Redmond not coming to bat at all. Imran Nazir got the Man of the Match award. The second and final T20I is tonight at this same venue.

Pakistan will be led by Shahid Afridi and they have three fresh players in Imran Nazir, Fawad Alam and Sohail Tanvir. New Zealand have some injury worries and will go into the match without Jacob Oram, Kyle Mills and James Franklin.

The match is at 20:00 local or 16:00 GMT and the second and final T20I is at the same time tomorrow.