New Zealand won the 3rd ODI by 3 wickets and sealed the series 2-0 over Pakistan.
TOSS : Pakistan elected to bat first against New Zealand
Pakistan Playing XI: Azhar Ali (capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Irfan
New Zealand Playing XI: Brendon McCullum (capt), Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Henry Nicholls, Corey Anderson, Grant Elliott, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Trent Boult
Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali and Ahmed Shehzad opened the innings for Pakistan. New Zealand’s Trent Boult and Matt Henry removed both openers of Pakistan team. Then Hafeez and Babar joined together and helped Pakistan to reach a big total of 290 in 47.3 overs
Pakistan Scorecard:
Pakistan 290/10 (47.3 overs)
Babar Azam 83(77) Mohammad Hafeez 76(60) | Adam Milne 49/3
New Zealand’s opener Brendon McCullum and Daniel Martin started to chase the target, but Pakistan’s Amir picked McCullum for duck. Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill did for New Zealand what Hafeez and Babar did for Pakistan. Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson took charge, added a record second wicket stand before both fell in their eighties. Pakistan kept fighting and reduced the hosts to 210/5 when rain finally forced a break in play. After the rain stopped, the match was resumed to play. In D/L method, New Zealand need 53 runs in just 7.3 overs. And New Zealand chased down the target successfully – with 3 wickets and 2 balls to spare.
New Zealand Scorecard:
New Zealand 265/7 (42.4)
Martin Guptill 82(81) Kane Williamson 84(86) | Azhar Ali 37/2
Man of the Match : Martin Guptill
Guptill: It was a tough wicket, diffficult to time the ball at times. I had to fight hard, happy that we had a record stand, but more happy to win. Pakistan put up a great fight, they are a tough team to beat. It was a wonderful series, looking forward to the T20 World Cup and the Australia series now.
Azhar Ali: We played good cricket, batted really well, couldn’t finish it off well, but had a good total to defend. Unfortunately, we couldn’t defend. I think we fell short by 30-40 runs, we lost wickets at crucial times. We tried hard, but they played better. Their second wicket stand was good, but we fought back with quick wickets, but they held on. Congrats to New Zealand for the series win.
Brendon McCullum: I thought it was a good game, we were under pressure, I thought they would score 340-350 at one time. Credit to our bowlers, they fought back well and we took the momentum with us in the chase. We had some luck with the bat, a couple of crucial moments went in our favour and that turned the game. I was resigned to a big chase, Guptill and Williamson batted superbly, I thought the rain came at the right time, in a shortened game, the team chasing has the advantage, there were a couple of key moments that we won and that proved to be difference in the end. Pakistan played well on this tour, we wish them well in the future.
It was a short tour of 3 T20I and 3 ODI. Home team New Zealand won the both series. Australia will visit New Zealand for 3 ODI match and 2 Test match series. The tour will begin with the ODI at this very same ground on February 3. Join us for all the action.
