New Zealand beat Pakistan by 73 runs in first ODI

New Zealand defeated Pakistan by 73 runs in the first One Day International match on Saturday in Napier, as the Pakistani batting lineup failed to deliver the expected performance.

Pakistan won the toss and chose to field first, allowing New Zealand to bat. New Zealand scored 344 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in 50 overs during the first One Day match. In response, Pakistan managed to score 271 runs and were all out in 44.1 overs.

Pakistan’s innings Pakistan’s innings began with openers Abdullah Shafiq and Usman Khan, but the opening partnership failed to score many runs, and Usman Khan was dismissed for 39 and Abdullah Shafiq for 36 runs by the Kiwi bowlers. After that, Pakistan’s third wicket fell with captain Mohammad Rizwan’s dismissal for 30 runs.

After three wickets fell, national team batsman Babar Azam played a responsible innings, but Babar was out for 78 runs off 83 balls.

New Zealand’s innings

In the first ODI against Pakistan, New Zealand lost three wickets for 50 runs. Will Young was dismissed for 1, Nick Kelly for 15, and Henry Nicholls for 11 runs.

After three wickets fell, Daryl Mitchell and Mark Chapman stabilized the innings with a responsible 199-run partnership.

During this period, Mark Chapman played a superb innings of 132 runs, hitting 13 fours and 6 sixes, while Daryl Mitchell was dismissed after scoring 76 runs.

Additionally, debutant Mohammad Abbas scored 52 runs off 26 balls, including 3 sixes and 3 fours.

New Zealand posted a total of 344 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in the allotted 50 overs.

For Pakistan, Irfan Khan took 3 wickets, while Haris Rauf and Akif Javed claimed 2 wickets each. Naseem Shah and Mohammad Ali picked up one wicket each.

Notably, Akif Javed, Mohammad Ali, and Usman Khan are making their debut for Pakistan in this match.

Pakistan’s playing XI

Pakistan’s squad includes Abdullah Shafique, Usman Khan, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Akif Javed, and Mohammad Ali.

It is worth mentioning that New Zealand defeated Pakistan 4-1 in the five-match T20 series before this ODI series.