PAK vs NZ: James Neesham bounces back on international comeback! Joins an elite list of bowlers with a huge T20 record for NZ
James Neesham was declared Player of the Match for his stunning spell of 5/22 in his four overs.
The Pakistan team took the limelight ever since the Champions Trophy of 2025, when Pakistan, despite being hosts, was the first team to be knocked out of the competition. Pakistan cricket underwent widespread changes in the shortest format, post the humiliating defeat.
The T20I side marked new recruits with a brand new skipper, Salman Agha, leading a fairly inexperienced side though backed by the experience of Shadab Khan, and the three fast bowlers in Naseem, Shaheen, and Haris Rauf. They have faced some serious concerns and have been taken for granted by the Kiwi side, who thrashed them in all aspects of the game.
The Champions Trophy finalists had rested most of their players and are being led by Michael Bracewell, who welcomed several old players of theirs to the team. Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, James Neesham, and many such players made their return to the Kiwi side.
With Finn Allen and Seifert being exceptional with the bat, James Neesham thrilled all with his shocking spell in the final T20 match as he picked a 5-for as they restricted Pakistan to just 128 runs in their 20 overs.
List of NZ bowlers with 5-for in T20 internationals: ft. James Neesham
1. Tim Southee
First time for New Zealand, Southee, the world’s highest wicket-taker in the shortest format of the game, picked a 5-for against Pakistan back in 2010. His stunning spell included 5 wickets, giving away just 18 runs in his spell at the Eden Park Stadium.
2. Lockie Ferguson
It took another 10 years for a New Zealand bowler to climb the ladder to the same record, as Lockie Ferguson in 2020 picked up another economical spell of 5/21 on the same ground of Eden Park against the West Indies.
3. Adam Milne
Adam Milne, who now rarely is seen in the black shirts, picked a 5-for, with 5 wickets picked, giving away 26 runs in 2023 against Sri Lanka at the venue of University Oval in Dunedin. He became the third bowler to have aced the record.
4. Tim Southee
Kiwi veteran pacer and highest wicket-taker Southee once again features on this list with another 5-for in the Dubai International Stadium against UAE, where he picked 5 wickets giving away just 25 runs.
Southee was the first Kiwi bowler to have picked a 5-fo on foreign soil in a T20I game.
5. James Neesham
James Neesham, the Blackcaps all-rounder, made his comeback to the New Zealand side after he was dropped from the Kiwi side, failing to make it to the ODI and T20 World Cup squads. Neesham picked a 5-for against Pakistan at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. Neesham is the 4th Kiwi bowler to have achieved this unique feat.
