Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi did not hold back in his praise for "matchwinner" Abdul Razzaq.
Pakistan on Thursday, cruised to victory in the third and final Twenty20 international against New Zealand at Christchurch.Despite having lost the three-match series 2-0 on Tuesday, the visitors put in a solid performance with both bat and ball, with Razzaq providing a 34-run cameo to set the Black Caps a target of 184.
And the paceman blew away the hosts' top order with figures of three for 13, as New Zealand were skittled out for just 80, giving Pakistan their biggest-ever win in T20 cricket.
Afridi himself claimed four scalps during the second-inning wicket frenzy, but insisted Razzaq was the architect of their morale-boosting win.
"He's a matchwinner, I've always seen him as one," Afridi said. "In the past there have been some games where victory looked unlikely, but he was able to see us through."
Pakistan have endured a tumultuous 12 months both on and off the field but Afridi maintained the win was good way forward for the country's cricketing future.
He said: "All the boys need is confidence and this game today shows what Pakistan is about and what talent we have.
"Yes we lost the series but today's win was good in order to keep our morale high."
New Zealand will go into next week's Test series on a relatively high note as well, given that they ended their 12-match losing streak in the shorter format with victory in the first T20 of this series at Auckland.
But captain Ross Taylor was still left to contend with today's below-par batting performance that saw the Black Caps lose their top four batsmen for ducks.
"Pakistan batted very well, put a very good total on the board," he said.
"But when your top four batsmen get out for nothing, it's a pretty bad taste."
When asked if the hosts had become complacent after achieving the series win in the second clash at Hamilton, Taylor added: "No. We wanted to go out and win the series 3-0 after what's happened over the last few months but Pakistan bowled really well too.
"We were looking forward to a good start given how they started, but the way Razzaq and Afridi bowled it was just outstanding."
