PAK vs NZ, 1st ODI: Pakistan 258 for 4 (Rizwan 77*, Babar 66, Fakhar 56, Bracewell 2-44) beat New Zealand 255 for 9 (Bracewell 43, Latham 42, Naseem 5-57, Mir 2-42) by six wickets

The Pakistan ODI strategy was demonstrated. Stop opponents from going for a par total. Make them and everyone else believe that they are having trouble chasing despite a strong performance from the top team, and then easily defeat the target.

After Pakistan chose to bowl first, Naseem Shah scored five runs in his second ODI, his last being in August 2022, to hold New Zealand to 255 for 9. After that, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, and Babar Azam all scored fine half-centuries to help Pakistan win the three-match series in Karachi 1-0. Rizwan struggled to get going at first and then got cramps near the end before launching an innovative attack on New Zealand and bringing the team home with a six-wicket victory.

Fakhar and Imam-ul-Haq quickly got Pakistan off the ground when they chased 256. As both batsmen feasted on debutant Henry Shipley’s erroneous lines and lengths, Imam hit his first ball through midwicket for four, helped along by a misfield. All of this took place before Imam attempted to challenge Michael Bracewell by skipping down the track, but he only missed one shot to midfield.

Pakistan had a solid foundation when Fakhar and Babar added 78 runs for the second wicket off 103 balls. Babar did not have an easy time when Bracewell and Mitchell Santner came on after the first powerplay, despite the fact that Fakhar appeared to be in control for the majority of his innings. Babar was a little unsure of the turn because Bracewell and Santner varied the flight, pace, and angle, and despite the fact that he slog-swept a six and pulled a four from successive deliveries off Santner, Babar was still unsure of the turn.

When Babar missed an arm ball from Santner on 24, he was ruled out lbw. However, on review, the tracker showed that the ball would have missed the leg stump. Additionally, he attempted a few unusual reverse sweeps early on against Bracewell. Fakhar, on the other hand, reached his half-century by exploiting the singles and sweep to good effect. However, when Bracewell managed to sneak one through Fakhar’s attempt to bowl him, the partnership ended.

After that, Babar and Rizwan scored 60 runs from 82 balls. The sluggish course didn’t really help strokeplay, so it was a long and arduous round. Glenn Phillips, a part-time offspinner, was then brought on by Kane Williamson to limit scoring. Even though Pakistan were able to keep up with the asking rate, Babar quickly reached another half-century, his tenth fifty-plus score in the eleventh ODI. Babar was soon tricked by Phillips, who got him stumped in the leg so that he could apply pressure.

With a 23-ball 32, Haris Sohail, who last played in an ODI in 2020, put New Zealand under pressure again. He hit Tim Southee twice over deep midwicket to significantly tilt the balance in Pakistan’s favor. Rizwan saw them return home after his fall and remained unbeaten on 77.

HIGHLIGHTS

Naseem rattles New Zealand

Earlier, Devon Conway’s back foot conspired with Naseem’s strike on the final ball of the first over to help the ball ricochet onto the stumps after he missed a flick. Williamson and Finn Allen took their time getting the surface’s measurement.

However, as New Zealand attempted to put their sluggish start behind them, Allen finally started to get the ball to ping off the meat of his blade. Before smashing Haris Rauf for a trio of fours, he hit Naseem for two fours in one over. However, Pakistan were able to see the back of Allen for 29 off 27 balls, assisted by an athletic diving catch by Agha Salman off Mohammad Wasim.

Williamson had hit some well-timed fours while Williamson had been able to get a good look at the surface. But debutant leg spinner Usama Mir’s ripper ended his stay. Before turning away to defeat Williamson’s bat and knock the middle stump’s top, Mir got one to drift and land on middle and leg.

Babar pressed Mohammad Nawaz and Salman’s offspin into service in the middle overs after observing Mir’s purchase and turn. Despite losing only two wickets in the phase, New Zealand only scored 57 runs between overs 21 and 35. The Pakistan spinners scored a total of 98 runs in 24 overs and took three wickets.

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Daryl Mitchell and Tom Latham were able to stick around and occasionally cross a line, but they were unable to really break free. Before Mitchell was bowled by a Nawaz delivery that landed in the middle and was straight enough to beat his outside edge and clatter into the stumps, they had added 56 runs for the fourth wicket.

Given his strength against spin, it appeared that Latham, one of the most fluent New Zealand batters, would step it up. However, all he was able to do was direct a half-tracker from Mir to deep midwicket.

Phillips and Bracewell added 66 runs off 75 balls after New Zealand was in trouble. The pair rotated the strike and helped the tourists base for a final-overs, despite not consistently hitting the big shots. So much so that Phillips, under increasing pressure, played out four dots before hitting Naseem for a massive six in the 40th over, his first of the game.

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However, Naseem had the last laugh when he was able to bowl out Phillips (37 off 53 balls) and Bracewell (43 off 42 balls) to prevent New Zealand from winning the match at the end. He picked off Bracewell and Shipley on consecutive balls, but Southee stopped him from scoring a hat trick. However, New Zealand was able to surpass the 250-run mark thanks to the quick hands of Santner and Southee. Eventually, it was insufficient.