Opener Tim Siefert's unbeaten 97 and James Neesham's five-wicket haul helped New Zealand demolish Pakistan by eight wickets in the fifth and final match of the T20I series at the Sky Stadium in Wellington on Wednesday.
With the win, the Blackcaps sealed the series 4-1. Neesham was adjudged player of the match for his fifer while Siefert got the player of the series award for his exceptional show with the bat.
Chasing a modest total of 129 runs, the Kiwis were off to a flier, making 92/0 in the Powerplay with Tim Seifert slamming 63 runs off 26 balls and Finn Allen scoring 27 runs off 11 balls.
Sufiyan Muqeem gave Pakistan some relief, scalping Allen in the seventh over. He also picked the wicket of Mark Chapman (3 off 7 balls) when the score was 103.
Seifert, seemingly in a hurry to finish the match, hit Pakistan's vice-captain Shadab Khan for four sixes in an over and took New Zealand over the line.
Seifert's 97 came in just 37 balls and contained ten sixes and six fours.
For Pakistan, Muqeem gave away just six runs in two overs while picking up two wickets. Jahandad Khan, who opened the bowling for Pakistan, had a forgettable outing as he gave away 43 runs in two overs.
Batting first, Pakistan managed only 128 for nine in 20 overs. Captain Salman Agha was their top-scorer with 51 runs off 39 balls.
Neesham ran through the Pakistan's lower-middle order, taking five wickets for 22 runs. Pacer Jacob Duffy also bowled well picking up two wickets for 18 runs in four overs.
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