"Catch Of The Summer": Daryl Mitchell Pulls Off A One-Handed Screamer During NZ vs PAK 3rd T20I. Watch

The third Twenty20 International (T20I) between New Zealand and Pakistan went to the wire but the visitors held their nerves at McLean Park, Napier, pulling pull off a nail-biting win by four wickets and thus avoiding a clean-sweep in the the three-match series. Chasing 174 to win, Pakistan got off to a solid start, with their openers Haider Ali and Mohammad Rizwan adding 38 runs inside five overs. However, the partnership didn't last long as Daryl Mitchell pulled off an "absolute screamer" to send Haider Ali packing in the last over of the powerplay.

Watch the dismissal here:

What a grab from Daryl Mitchell!#NZvPAK #CricketNation https://t.co/z9hTj1yXrA

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) December 22, 2020

Interestingly, Daryl Mitchell wasn't even supposed to be there on the field as he wasn't even part of the playing XI. But he pulled off the sensational catch moments after coming on the field as a replacement for Martin Guptill, who incidentally injured himself after throwing himself in the air trying to complete a catch to get rid of the same batsman on the previous ball.

Talking about the dismissal, a leading edge from Haider Ali off Scott Kuggeleijn's bowling went to the cover region where the substitute fielder Daryl Mitchell ran backwards for a couple of yards before pulling off a one-handed blinder. 

Rizwan and Mohammad Hafeez stitched a 82-run stand for the second wicket to put Pakistan in the driver's seat. Hafeez, who had scored an unbeaten 99 in the previous match, missed out on a half-century by nine runs. He was also caught by Daryl Mitchell in the deep in the 14th over.

With Rizwan out in the middle, Pakistan were still on top but they lost wickets in quick succession towards the end which brought New Zealand back in the game.

With three runs needed off last three ball, Iftikhar Ahmed got his side over the line by smashing a huge six. New Zealand couldn't complete the clean sweep but they won the series 2-1, while Pakistan registered their first win of the tour, ahead of the two-match Test series, which begins on December 26

Topics mentioned in this article

Pakistan Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team McLean Park, Napier New Zealand vs Pakistan, 3rd T20I Cricket Mohammad Rizwan Mohammad Hafeez Kane Williamson