Mitchell Hay, who struck an unbeaten 99 in the first innings of the second ODI between Pakistan and New Zealand, stole the show with his knock. Hay won Player of the Match for his batting brilliance as New Zealand secured an 84-run victory. He was able to join an exclusive list that included people like Virender Sehwag in the process. Mitchell Hay had an innings which included seven fours and seven sixes, smashing 99 off 78 balls.
Hay achieves big feat
He is now the first wicketkeeper-batter from New Zealand to reach 99 in an ODI without losing. He became the third wicketkeeper-batter to accomplish this feat in ODIs overall.
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He is currently just the 16th hitter to score 99 not out in an ODI match. He now joins a select group of athletes who have accomplished this feat, such as Mohammad Yousuf, Virender Sehwag, and Michael Clarke. Bruce Edgar was the first player to hit an unbeaten 99 in ODIs, and Mitchell Hay is now the second Kiwi player to do so. In 1981, he did this in Auckland against India. Before Mitchell Hay, only two wicketkeeper-batters had accomplished this: Andy Flower (1999) and Swapnil Patil (2014).
With the final match remaining, New Zealand had secured the series after Pakistan lost the second ODI. Pakistan's batting order was ruined by Ben Sears' five-wicket haul following Mitchell Hay's undefeated 99. In the first innings, the Blackcaps scored 292 runs thanks to Hay's 99 and Mohammad Abbas's 41.
Pakistan lost their first seven wickets for 72 in the reply. Pakistan came quite close to the objective thanks to Faheem Ashraf's 73 and Naseem Shah's 51, but Sears's scorching 5/59 held the Men in Green to 208.