Pakistan fans had something to cheer for amid the poor form of their team as Haris Rauf grabbed a stunning catch right at the start of the third T20I against New Zealand. (Live Blog | Cricket News)
After winning the toss, Pakistan chose to field and as expected Shaheen Shah Afridi got the shining new white ball. After three singles off the first four balls, came the moment which lit up the game. Afridi delivered a full delivery which Kiwi opener Fin Allen looked to turn towards the leg side. Rauf, not really known for setting high fielding standards, was stationed at fine leg. The pacer flew to his right, stretched his right hand to grab a stunner with one hand.
Allen was thus dismissed for a three-ball Duck and Pakistan got their first wicket just at the score of three. Rauf then also took a wicket on just his second ball of the game as he dismissed the other opener Tim Siefert for 19. At the end of the powerplay, New Zealand were at 58/2. Below are the Playing XIs of both the sides for the third game.
Pakistan Playing XI: Mohammad Haris(w), Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha(c), Irfan Khan, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Abdul Samad, Shaheen Afridi, Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf
New Zealand Playing XI: Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Hay(w), Michael Bracewell(c), Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears
Earlier, New Zealand thrashed Pakistan in the opening two games of the series to take a 2-0 lead.
