On the back of a complete team performance, Pakistan defeated New Zealand by 26 runs in the third ODI at the National Stadium in Karachi on May 3 (Wednesday) and took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. Babar Azam's men played excellent cricket for the majority part of the game and it was their consistency and relentlessness that helped the Men in Green secure another fantastic victory.
Chasing a target of 288 runs, the Black Caps started got off to an excellent start after Will Young and Tom Blundell combined for an 83-run partnership for the opening wicket. Once Young (33 runs off 41 balls) was run out, the momentum of the game titled towards Pakistan and their bowlers kept chipping away at the wickets column. In-form Daryl Mitchell (21 runs off 24 balls) failed to convert his start into a big knock just like his skipper Tom Latham (45 runs off 60 balls).
Blundell was the only Kiwi batter who turned his start into a substantial score but New Zealand needed the right-handed batter to convert his knock of 65 runs off 78 balls into a century. The game turned on its head once Blundell was also run out just like his opening partner.
On debut, Cole McConchie played a brilliant cameo and scored 64 not out off 45 balls but he received no support from the other batters. As a result, the Black Caps were bundled out for 261 runs in 49.1 overs.
For Pakistan, the pace battering comprising Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Wasim Jr bagged two wickets each while Agha Salman picked a wicket.
Earlier, New Zealand won the toss and asked Pakistan to bat first. Once in-form Fakhar Zaman was dismissed for 19 runs off 26 balls by Matt Henry, Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam combined for a 108-run alliance for the second wicket. Imam failed to score a century as he was dismissed by Henry after scoring 90 runs off 107 balls while the Pakistan captain was undone by Henry after scoring 54 runs off 62 balls.
Mohammad Rizwan (32 runs off 24 balls), Agha Salman (31 runs off 29 balls) and Shadab Khan (21 not out off 10 balls) contributed with handy cameos that pushed Pakistan's total to 287/6 in 50 overs.
For New Zealand, Henry bagged three wickets while Adam Milne chipped in with two wickets. McConchie was the only other Kiwi bowler who was successful in picking a wicket.,
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