New Zealand had a convincing win over Pakistan in first ODI of tri-nation series by 78 runs. Glenn Phillips receives man of the match award on his brilliant all-round performance.
After winning the toss New Zealand chose to bat on a dry surface at the newly built stadium. However they struggled early as Shaheen Afridi struck in his first over. Shaheen gets Will Young with a delivery that found the edge to the wicketkeeper.
New Zealand posted a strong total of 330 for 6 in the first ODI of the tri-series against Pakistan thanks to a late surge from Glenn Phillips. The innings remained challenging until the final six overs as Pakistan’s bowlers picked up regular wickets. However half centuries from Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell kept New Zealand’s scoreboard moving.
Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah shared five wickets between them restricting New Zealand’s momentum. However Phillips changed the game in the last few overs. He smashed an aggressive hundred off 72 balls. He Scored 77 runs from his final 32 deliveries, to give New Zealand a strong finish before the innings break.
With Williamson playing cautiously in the power play Rachin Ravindra took charge. Opening in ODIs for the first time he played an attacking cameo. He hit Afridi for boundaries on both sides of the wicket and quickly reached 25 off 18 balls. However his aggressive approach led to his dismissal as he chipped a simple return catch to Abrar Ahmed.
Daryl Mitchell struggled early scoring only 9 off 22 balls. The momentum shifted when Mitchell attacked Khushdil Shah lofting him for a six over his head. This signaled a change in approach with Williamson also accelerating. Their partnership pushed the run rate higher as it neared a 100 run stand.
However Pakistan stayed in control by breaking partnerships at key moments. Two wickets in five deliveries put New Zealand on the back foot again. Shaheen Afridi once more provided the breakthrough by dismissing Williamson. Williamson edged a gentle delivery to Mohammad Rizwan who took a comfortable catch. Soon after Tom Latham fell as the ball stopped on him causing a mistimed shot to midwicket.
Despite losing wickets, New Zealand’s innings took a dramatic turn when Glenn Phillips arrived at the crease. He attacked Pakistan’s bowlers in the death overs hitting powerful shots all around the ground. His aggressive knock turned a competitive total into a strong one.
While chasing the big total Fakhar Zaman provided a good start to the innings. Babar Azam once again fails to perform and keeps his bad form ahead of big event. Fakhar Zaman hit 84 runs with 4 huge sixes and 7 fours as Phillips get him lbw. Pakistan’s middle order fails to perform as Captain also does nothing. Salman Ali Agha show some resistance hitting 40 runs of 51 balls consisting of 2 fours and only 1 six.
Abrar Ahmed remains not out on 23 runs hitting 3 fours in one over of Matt Henry. Haris Rauf did not come to play and remain absent hurt. Pakistan all team bowled out on 252 runs in 47.5 overs. Fakhar Zaman makes a good come back rest of Pakistani team need to improve their batting.
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