New Zealand's explosive batsman, Finn Allen, showcased his prowess against Pakistan in the T20I series, smashing a whirlwind half-century off just 19 balls. Unsold in IPL 2025, Allen's blistering innings highlighted the significant oversight by franchise teams in not securing his services.
Sports News: The ongoing T20I series between New Zealand and Pakistan is proving to be a thrilling contest. New Zealand holds a 2-1 lead after three matches, although Pakistan made a b comeback in the third match, winning by 9 wickets. The teams now face off at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, where Pakistan won the toss and elected to field.
Finn Allen's Fiery Innings
In the match at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, Pakistan won the toss and invited New Zealand to bat first. Kiwi openers Finn Allen and Tim Seifert displayed aggressive intent from the outset, raining boundaries on the Pakistani bowlers. New Zealand reached 54/0 within the first four overs.
Tim Seifert also batted brilliantly, scoring 44 runs off 22 balls before being dismissed. Finn Allen then took charge, reaching his half-century in just 19 balls, smashing 6 fours and 3 sixes. This was the second-fastest half-century of his T20I career.
23 Runs in Shadab Khan's Over
The highlight of Allen's innings was the 10th over, where he mercilessly attacked Pakistani bowler Shadab Khan. Allen plundered 23 runs from the over, including 2 sixes and 2 fours. New Zealand's score reached 134/2 after 10 overs. However, he was dismissed by Abbas Afridi off the very next ball, but not before making his mark.
New Zealand posted a challenging 220/6 in their allotted 20 overs. Captain Michael Bracewell also played a stellar innings, scoring an unbeaten 46 off 26 balls. For Pakistan, Haris Rauf took the most wickets with 3.
Finn Allen Joins the Fastest Half-Century List
Finn Allen's 19-ball half-century secured him a place among New Zealand's fastest T20I half-century scorers. The list of New Zealand's fastest T20I half-centuries is as follows:
14 balls - Colin Munro vs Sri Lanka (2016)
18 balls - Colin Munro vs West Indies (2018)
18 balls - Colin Munro vs England (2018)
18 balls - Finn Allen vs Bangladesh (2021)
19 balls - Martin Guptill vs Sri Lanka (2016)
19 balls - Martin Guptill vs England (2019)
19 balls - Glenn Phillips vs Bangladesh (2022)
19 balls - Finn Allen vs Pakistan (2025)
Finn Allen had a base price of ₹2 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction but went unsold. After this explosive innings, questions are being raised about whether IPL teams made a huge mistake by not purchasing such a talented player.
