As it happened: Blackcaps v Pakistan – third Twenty20

Pakistan win T20 match three by 18 runs and the series 2-1

20th Over New Zealand 163/6 Blundell 3(5) Santner 24(12)

Free Hit!! No ball for over waste height..Blundell was caught but it doesn't count...This must go for six..it doesn't they come back for two...31 off five..yeah..Dropped!! Santner tries to go big..miss times it by Fakhar nakes a mess of it..Santner smokes a six that won't matter but hey it was a lovely shot over mid-wicket..23 off 2...Santner sneaks a four over third man but this late hitting is in vein. And that's the game..dot ball off the last..game over.

Faheem to bowl..NZ need 35

19th Over New Zealand 147/6 Blundell 2(4) Santner 10(6)

Straight drive over mid off...great shot to start the over as it reaches the boundary....Five off the first two balls...Blundell really struggling here..can't get Amir away...game is pretty much done...Pakistan are an over and a bit away from reclaiming top spot atop the world T20 rankings. 

Amir to bowl his last

18th Over New Zealand 140/6 Blundell 1(1) Santner 5(3)

Wicket: Bruce b Rumman 22(15) 

Bruce with a lovely piece of innovation..scoopes it a full one over the keepers head for four.....but the bowler gets his revenge next ball..full again and Bruce misses and it cleans him out...we have another review off Santner's first ball..caught behind they are asking for......looks like Mitch hit the ground with his bat..Yep..not out. Santner smokes the next ball through mid-wicket for four..sweet timing...42 required off 12 balls..hmmm.

Rumman to bowl his last

17th Over New Zealand 130/5 Bruce 18(12) Blundell 1(1)

Wicket: Taylor c Sarfraz b Amir 25(11)

Great start from Amir..one run off the first two balls..getting the length right and he is bowling quick...We have a review here for LBW or caught behind..LBW is not out..pitched outside leg..Taylor may have nicked it..and it appears he as on snicko..and he is going to be ruled out!! That's the match winner. This is world class bowling from Amir..he has found a great length..a full length...Just three and a wicket there.

Amir back into the attack...big over this..NZ need 13 an over.

16th Over New Zealand 127/4 Taylor 25(9) Bruce 16(9)

Taylor goes again!!! Six more over square leg..what a shot!! Taylor hitting it clean. Bruce goes now!! That is huge..like really huge..in his arc over mid wicket...superb shot. 

Rumann back into the attack.

15th Over New Zealand 110/4 Bruce 8(6) Taylor 16(6) 

Taylor throws back the years..walks down the wicket and heaves it over mid-wicket for six..nice!...and he goes again!!! This was better..timed to perfection..huge six!! Vintage Ross Taylor..this could be fun. Dropped!! Taylor goes high to thord man but the fielder can't quite make the ground in time..16 off the over.

Faheem to bowl his third over.

14th Over New Zealand 94/4 Bruce 7(5) Taylor 1(1)

Wicket: de Grandhomme b Yamin 1(2)

That could be the game...de Gramdomme onto the back foot..tries to pull and misses..it takes out his leg stump..Blackcaps in a huge hole here...14's required..Ross Taylor at the crease. Bruce manages to work a four round the corner off the last ball.

Yamin to bowl his last...NZ require 13 runs an over

13th Over New Zealand 87/3 Bruce 2(2) de Grandhomme 0(0)

Wicket: Kitchen stmpd Safraz b Shadab 16(19)

Wicket: Guptill c Fakhar b Shadab 59(43)

Shadab is bowling superbly...Kitchen with the brain fade..charges down the wicket..misses..and Sarfaz has an eternity to whip the bails off. Tom Bruce the new man...Oh talk about brain fades..Martin Guptill off Shadab's last ball holds out too midwicket...criminal cricket.

Shadab will finish his spell.

12th Over New Zealand 84/1 Guptill 58(41) Kitchen 16(17)

Over gully goes Guptill..great shot from the Blackcaps opening batsmen for four....fifty partnership is up from 37 balls. Only eight off that one for NZ..run rate req sitting at 12.

Faheem is back into the attack.

11th Over New Zealand 76/1 Guptill 51( 36) Kitchen 15(16)

Guptill gets a little luck late in the over...goes after a wide one and he squeezes it past short third man for a boundary...Guptill cuts for another two and brings up his fifty..11 off that over.

Shadab to bowl his third.

10th Over New Zealand 65/1 Guptill 40(30) Kitchen 15(16)

Guptill breaks the shackles somewhat..Short and he rocks back and crushes it over mid-wicket for six! A little bit of the building pressure has been released. Better over for NZ...11 off that one.

Yamin to continue.

9th Over

New Zealand 54/1 Guptill 32(27) Kitchen 13(13)

Brilliant bowling again..NZ getting in a hole here..three overs have gone for seven runs..just the one run off that over.

Shadab to continue..six runs off the last two overs.

8th Over

New Zealand 53/1 Guptill 32(23) Kitchen 12(11)

Great over from Yamin..he tied down Kitchen with some tricky bowling..that is a superb over.

Yamin back for his second over.

7th Over New Zealand 51/1 Guptill 31(21) Kitchen 11(7)

Blackcaps take it easy against the dangerous Shadab..work him around for four singles in that over..very watchful batting.

Shadab Khan into the attack

6th Over New Zealand 47/1 Guptill 29(18) Kitchen 9(4)

Wicket: Williamson c Babar Azam b Faheem 9(14)

The prerssure takes it's toll on the skipper who looked out of sorts..He tries to thrash it over gully but hits it straight to Azam....Kitchen the new batsmen and he smashes his first ball through point for four. Kitchen goes again..same shot and his timing is prestine...great start for Anaru Kitchen. Guptill goes big!!! Vintage Marty..over the bowlers head for six!! Boomtown!

Faheem to start his spell

5th Over New Zealand 32/0 Guptill 24(17) Williamson 9(13)

Amir bowling very quick at the moment..143k and 145k to start this over..Willaimson and Guptill squeeze a couple singles away. Great bowling from Amir...Keeping both NZ batters on the back foot....great over.

Amir to continue.

4th Over New Zealand 28/0 Guptill 20(12) Williamson 8(11)

Another close call for Williamson..goes down on one knee to lap..misses and it scrapes past the leg stump..oh so close. Guptill goes bang!! Again over fine lef for six..superb cricket shot. Nine off that over..Williamson struggling at the moment.

Rumman continues.

3rd Over New Zealand 19/0 Guptill 12(9) Williamson 7(9)

Geez..Williamson should have been run out there..terrible running between the two but the fielder throws and misses to give the skipper a life. Guptill heaves the next ball over fine leg for six...great shot. 9 runs off that over for the Blackcaps.

Mohammad Amir into the attack

2nd Over New Zealand 10/0 Guptill 4(4) Williamsin 6(8)

Williamson with the first boundary of the innings..lovely shot through mid-wicket...Rumman comes back very well...four dots to end the over.

Rumman Raess to open up at the other end.

1st Over New Zealand 5/0 Guptill 3(3) Williamson 2(3)

Standard stuff from Guptill and Williamson..five singles to start with.

Umar Yamin will bowl the first over.

The touists will be happy with that effort...they plundered 109 off their last 60 balls to reach what would be a minimum score on this wicket. Be back in 10 minutes with New Zealand's reply.

20th Over Pakistan 181/6 Sohail 20(12) Yamin 15(6)

First three balls are good from Southee..Just four off the over so far. DROPPED!! Oh geez that is awful..Bruce with a total goober..Straight too him and he drops it cold..too make matters worse the ball falls behind him and it goes for a boundary. Last ball coming up...And Yamin smokes it for Six!! What a geat shot over long on.

Southee to bowl the last over of the innings.

19th Over Pakistan 165/6 Sohail 19(11) Tamin 1(1)

Wicket: Faheem Ashraf b Boult 8(4)

Great shot from Faheem..Boult goes to the slower ball again and the result is the same as his last over..Four through square leg. Bowled him!! Boult with a textbook yorker...cleans Faheem out. Great finish to the over from Boult to limit the damage of a first ball boundary.

Boult to complete his spell.

18th Over Pakistan 156/5 Sohail 19(10) Faheem 0(0)

Wicket: Umar Amin c de Grandhomme b Sodhi 21(7)

Half tracker from Sodhi is smashed over the square leg boundary for six by Umar..great shot. DROPPED! This time Sodhi feels the pain..de Grandhomme should have snatched that one..he made a lot of ground coming in but couldn't quite get to it...and the next ball goes for Six!! Great shot from Umar..Boult almost pulls off a stunning catch but it just alludes him.,,and Umar adds more pain to Sodhi..smashes the second ball of the over for six!...Sodhi grans his wicket off the last ball..de Grandhomme with the catch at long on but the damage was done. 21 off the over.

Sodhi back for his last.

17th Over Pakistan 135/4 Sohail 18(9) Umar 1(2)

Slower ball to open up with and it's smashed by Sohail over cover..nice shot and a four to start the over. DROPPED! Sodhi drops a bit of a sitter at mid-wicket..straight to him and he spills out..Boult not pleased.And he is even angrier now..great shot from Sohail over mid-off for four next ball...good over for Pakistan..12 off that one.

Boult back for his third over.

16th Over Pakistan 123/4 Sohail 8(4) Umar 0(1)

Wicket: Sarfaz Ahmed c Sodhi b Santner 29(21)

Superb over so far from Santner and he is rewarded when a frustrated Sarfaz tries to heave him over cover and he top edges straight to Sodhi at short third man. Santner finishes well off the last..Two runs and a wicket off that one.

Santner to bowl out

15th Over Pakistan  121/3 Sarfaz 28(17) Sohail 7(3)

Sarfaz tries to go big late in the over and he gets a nick on it but he goes hard enough to get it wide and high enough to beat Blundell...another four for Sarfaz. Sohail slaps his first boundary through mid-wicket off the last ball de Grandhomme will bowl today..awful ball that from Colin..14 off that over.

De Grandhomme back for his last over.

14th Over Pakistan 107/3 Sarfaz 22(14) Sohail 0(0)

Wicket: Fakhar Zaman c Bruce b Santner 46(36)

Good pressure from Santner leads to a mistake for Fakhar..le lofts Santner over cover and Bruce with a great diving catch to claim the wicket although the umpires want to have a look at it. Great over from Mitchell....umpire says out!! It was close I have to say..it looked like the ball may have hit the ground first but the 'soft signal' was out...not enough evidence to overturn.

Santner to bowl his third.

13th Over Pakistan 101/2 Fakhar 45(33) Sarfaz 17(11)

Fakhar gets away with one of the fifth ball..edge just wide of Blundell..Boult does well to cut off the boundary.  Nice over from Southee.

Southee back into the attack.

12th Over Pakistan 93/2 Fakhar 40(29) Sarfaz 14(9)

Magnificent shot from Sarfaz...had been a nice start to the over from Mitchell but the Pakistani captain gives himself some room and caresses it over cover for a lovely four. He repeats the shot but with a bit more violence off the last ball for another four...11 off that one.

Santner back into the attack...small delay here as Sarfaz is dealing with a knee complaint.

11th Over - Pakistan 82/2 Fakhar 38(27) Sarfaz 5(5)

Williamson with a misfield costs his side three-runs off the first ball of the over..Sodhi not amused with his skipper.....Great shot Fakhar..drills it down the ground for a four..he smoked that one right past Sodhi's skull.....10 off that one.

Sodhi to bowl his third.

10th Over - Pakistan 72/2 Fakhar 32(24) Sarfaz 1(2)

Fakhar almost falls off the second ball..off cutter from Colin and Fakhar is on the cut and he almost slices it straight to Ross Taylor at a short third man but Taylor couldn't quite get under it. Last ball four for Fakhar..he smokes a straight drive down to the long off boundary.

Big Colin de Grandhomme back on replacing Santner.

9th Over - Pakistan 66/2 Fakhar 27(20) Sarfaz 0(0)

Wicket: Babar Azam c Williamson b Sodhi 18(17)

Straight drive from Fakhar..over the top and down to the boundary for another four..Unlucky for Sodhi as he beat him in flight there. Got em!! Outside off..stops on Babar a tad and he spoons it straight to Williamson at point...nice bowling from Sodhi.

Sodhi continues.

8th Over - Pakistan 57/1 Fakhar 21(17) Azam 15(14)

Nice over from Mitchell..kept the batsmen in check well...just the five off the 8th over.

Mitchell Santner on for de Grandhomme.

7th Over - Pakistan 52/1 Fakhar 19(15) Azam 12(10)

Oops...Sodhi oversteps and it's a free hit..umpire got it way wrong and Sodhi is spewing. Babar ends up being caught at long off from the free hit and gets back for two. Great bowling from Ish of the fifth ball..the one that goes the other way had Fakhar looking like he has no clue..and he didn't...seven off the over but good signs for Sodhi.

Ish Sodhi on for Boult.

6th Over - Pakistan 45/1 Fakhar 17(11) Azam 8(7)

Great shot from Babar Azam...long hop from big Colin and he punches it through point for a lovely four. Blundell comes up to the stumps..it's short and Fakhar helps it on the way to fine leg for six...nice shot. 11 off that one.

De Grandhomme continues.

5th Over - Pakistan 34/1 Fakhar 11(9) Azam 3(3)

Kitchen with superb work again on the mid-wicket boundary..keeping four down to one..good over from Boult.

Boult replaces Southee..back for his second over.

4th Over - Pakistan 30/1 Fakhar 10(6) Azam 0(0)

Wicket: Ahmed Shehzad c Blundell b de Grandhomme 19(18)

Fakhar thrashes big Colin through covers for a four to start the over...de Grandhomme coming back nicely..just one run coming off the next four balls...big appeal off the last ball of the over for a catch behind..umpire says 'no'..Williamson goes upstairs. And that's out...he went for the lap shot and helped it on it's way through the keeper..good comeback from Colin.

Colin de Grandhomme replaces Boult.

3rd Over - Pakistan 25/0 Fakhar 5(3) Shehzad 19(15)

Shehzad smokes Southee through mid-wicket but Kitchen does a superb job keeping what should have been four down to two....Shehzad gets it right next ball..smacking it down the ground for his second four..he repeats it next ball..square drive....10 from the over.

Southee continues.

2nd Over - Pakistan 15/0 Fakhar 5(3) Shehzad 9(9)

Fakhar with a lovely on drive boundry off Boult's opening ball...Boult comes back well but Shehzad manages to squeeze out the last one down the ground for a three.

Trent Boult to follow Southee up-wind.

1st Over - Pakistan 7/0 Fakhar 0(1) Shehzad 6(5)

Ahmed Shehzad gets lucky as the third ball floats between gully and point and he makes the most of it next ball..smashing it through mid-wicket for the first boundary.

Tim Southee to open the bowling for New Zealand.

6.53pm: Okay players and umpires about to head out..be back in five minutes with all the action.

6.50pm: Williamson confirmed at the toss that Kitchen will bat three..Taylor five in a revamped batting lineup.

6.46pm: Sky Sports Scott Styris believes this pitch is a belter...should be looking to post 200+ batting first.

6.44pm: England is 172/4 after 32 overs in the fifth and final ODI in Perth.

6.41pm: Great weather and a great, sold out crowd for what should be a cracking match...the Kiwis may miss Munroe but Williamson averages over 40 as an opener in T20 cricket so he is no stranger to that role.

6.36pm: The winner of this one will earn the number one spot in the ICC's T20 rankings.

6.34pm: For the Blackcaps, Ross Taylor replaces Colin Munro and Tom Blundell in for Glenn Phillips..Anaru Kitchen and Tim Southee in for Ben Wheeler and Seth Rance miss out.

6.32pm: Pakistan have won the toss and Sarfaz Ahmed has decided they will bat first...Hasin Ali is out of their matchday 11..Aamer Yamin comes in.

Welcome to live coverage of the third and final T20 clash between the Blackcaps and Pakistan in Mount Maunganui.

All on the line for the tourists today as the look to leave New Zealand shores with some silverware after what was a poor ODI effort.

Will have team and toss details for you shortly.

Newshub.