PAK vs NZ, 2nd ODI: New Zealand 261 (Conway 101, Williamson 85, Nawaz 4-38, Naseem 3-58) beat Pakistan 182 (Babar 79, Sodhi 2-38, Southee 2-33) by 79 runs

On a slow, grippy Karachi pitch, New Zealand collapsed for 6 for 37 in the final over, but their spin-heavy attack had a manageable total before that thanks to the attacking work of Devon Conway and Kane Williamson. Pakistan’s pursuit of 262 was initially disrupted by Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson, but the New Zealand spin quartet muzzled the hosts with subtle variations, forcing a Friday decider.

Babar Azam gave Pakistan hope with 79 runs off 114 balls despite wickets falling around him. However, he was unable to find a higher gear to maintain the asking rate.

Mitchell Santner did his thing by holding his length back while relentlessly attacking the stumps. The most economical spinner was Michael Bracewell, who plays more as a batting all-rounder for Wellington, his home team. In his ten overs, he got 1 for 29.

Ish Sodhi, who took Henry Shipley’s place in the team, bowled into the pitch and frequently caused Pakistan’s batsmen to miss. The leg spinner nearly ensured New Zealand’s series-leveling victory by taking Babar’s prized scalp, the second Pakistan batter dismissed. Glenn Phillips, who is now a reluctant wicketkeeper because of a back condition, caught Haris Sohail lbw to boost New Zealand’s spin options in an ODI World Cup year. The sum of the spinners’ figures was 30-0-114-5.

With his second ODI century – 101 from 92 balls – today’s Player of the Match is Devon Conway! 🏆 #PAKvNZ pic.twitter.com/9aN1UJZpyi

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) January 11, 2023

Southee and Ferguson set the tone for the successful defense of New Zealand. Southee ran away from the left-hander on a Test-match length and kissed his outside edge after testing Fakhar Zaman with six inswingers. A seven-ball duck, gone. Ferguson and Southee took the new ball and blasted Imam-ul-Haq out with a 153 kph bouncer while several New Zealand fast bowlers were injured.

Together, Babar and Mohammad Rizwan added 55 runs for the third wicket, but they needed 99 balls to reach their target. Pakistan’s batters made errors as the New Zealand spinners raised the asking rate. Babar’s men were bowled out in 43 overs despite his efforts to extend the chase as far as possible.

Even with his quick darts, Mohammad Nawaz was able to find grip and turn on the sluggish pitch earlier in the day. There was more to Nawaz’s bowling than just grip and turn. In the 35th over, Williamson’s defenses were breached by a delightful combination of drift, dip, and turn. Tom Latham, one of New Zealand’s best spinners, was undone by skidding and zipping off a relatively slow pitch. In New Zealand’s collapse to 6 for 37, he took four wickets.

Pakistan had also made a strong start, with Naseem Shah striking once more in his first over

In the second ODI, the fast bowler had Finn Allen catch Nawaz at short cover for 1 after sending Conway packing for a golden duck. After that, Williamson and Conway put together a 181-run second-wicket stand that changed the game.

Conway struggled with timing in those early exchanges and frequently lost his form when attempting to overhit the ball. Williamson, on the other hand, was in charge right from the start.

The trademark dab to deep third in the beginning of the New Zealand captain’s innings was followed by a more determined powerplay. He shoved Mohammad Wasim into the air over midwicket for fours and scythed Naseem over backward point. Williamson made his half-century off 52 balls first, and Conway followed him in the same over.

In the 22nd over, Williamson was then spared twice by four balls. Wasim spliced a pull to midwicket, where Haris dropped an overhead coach, when he dug one into the pitch for the first time. After Wasim brushed Williamson’s glove, the wicketkeeper Rizwan missed a chance three balls later.

Conway responded to Pakistan’s spinners with a variety of hard sweeps, including the reverse, and showed signs of his fluent best. He needed only 32 more balls to reach triple digits after hitting his first fifty out of 57. Conway took Agha Salman, a part-time spinner, for 12 off eight balls, helping Babar get a few quiet overs out of him. Wasim was even hit by Conway when he charged at him, pumping him over point for six. Naseem took a wicket just as he looked like he could get more before Nawaz took over and destroyed New Zealand’s middle order.

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Santner put up a brave fight until the end, scoring 37 runs off 40 balls before being run out on the final ball of the innings. He also came up with the ball and made sure Pakistan couldn’t come back, despite Babar’s resistance.