Pakistan took 1-0 lead in the ODI series against New Zealand as they chased down 289 runs target for the loss of five wickets, thanks to Fakhar Zaman’s ninth ODI century in Rawalpindi stadium on Thursday.
Pakistan batting
Pakistan were given a great start as their openers Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq as they scored their seventh opening partnership century.
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They added 124 runs for the opening wicket, before Imam-ul-Haq was dismissed by Ish Sodhi after scoring 60 runs.
Babar Azam also looked in great touch as he added 90 runs for the second wicket partnership with Fakhar Zaman but he was dismissed just one run short of another fifty.
Fakhar Zaman stayed there and went on to score his ninth ODI century and was dismissed after scoring 117 runs.
Shan Masood (1) and Salman Ali Agha (7) could not enter the double digits and Pakistan lost their fifth wicket for 273 runs.
But Muhammad Rizwan stayed strong and remained unbeaten on 42 off 34 balls as they reached the target in the 49th over.
The second ODI will be played on Saturday, 29th April as Pakistan are looking for the top spot in ODI rankings with a whitewash.
New Zealand batting
Pakistan elected to field first after winning the toss and New Zealand’s openers added 48 runs, before Chad Bowes was dismissed by Haris Rauf for 18 runs.
Will Young and Daryl Mitchell had a century partnership for the second wicket, which made their position strong.
Will Young became victim of Shadab Khan after scoring 86 runs and missed his second ODI century by just 14 runs.
New Zealand’s skipper Tom Latham could add 20 runs on the 36 balls he faced and was trapped LBW by Shaheen Shah Afridi when the tourists lost their third wicket for 222 runs.
The hero of New Zealand from the T20I series, Mark Chapman was bowled by Haris Rauf for 15 runs but Daryl Mitchell reached his century.
Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf took two wickets whereas Shadab Khan picked got one scalp.
