New Zealand salvaged some pride and avoided an embarrassing whitewash as they defeated Pakistan by 47 runs at the National Stadium in Karachi on May 7 (Sunday). As a result, the Black Caps ended the Pakistan tour with a victory but the Men in Green secured the trophy by winning the ODI series by a commanding margin of 4-1. The defeat came as a blow to Babar Azam's men as they lost the No.1 spot in the ICC ODI Rankings.
Chasing a target of 300 runs, Pakistan's top order crumbled like a pack of cards. Opener Fakhar Zaman scored 33 runs off 64 balls while Shan Masood (seven runs off 20 balls), captain Babar (one run off five balls) and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan (nine runs off 15 balls) failed to even reach double figures, Tottering at 66/4, the Men in Green needed a solid partnership to make a comeback into the game.
Agha Salman and Iftikhar Ahmed stitched a 97-run partnership for the fifth wicket and dragged the hosts back into the tie. Once Salman departed after scoring a run-a-ball 57 runs, Pakistan's lower order failed to stick around as Iftikhar Ahmed remained stranded on 94 runs off 72 balls. The muscular right-handed batter smashed eight fours and two sixes during his fantastic knock. The lack of contribution from other batters meant that Pakistan could only manage a score of 252/10 in 46.1 overs.
For New Zealand, Henry Shipley and Rachin Ravindra bagged three wickets each while Matt Henry, Adam Milne and Ish Sodhi chipped in with a wicket each.
Earlier, New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first. Opener Will Young played a terrific knock of 87 runs off 91 balls while the other batters in the middle order chipped in with handy contributions. Captain Tom Latham scored 59 runs off 58 balls while Mark Chapman added 43 runs off 33 balls. The Black Caps posted a total of 299/10 in 49.3 overs on the board.
For Pakistan, Shaheen Afridi bagged three wickets while Usama Mir and Shadab Khan bagged two wickets each. Haris Rauf and Mohammad Wasim Jr picked a wicket each as well.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
Yuzvendra Chahal equals Dwayne Bravo's record, creates history to become joint-highest wicket-taker in IPL
IPL 2023: Simon Doull blasts Shubman Gill despite carrying the bat — ‘Milestones don’t matter in this game so he should have...’
