CHRISTCHUCH: Pakistan on Saturday beat New Zealand by 6 wickets bagging its second successive win in the tri-series at Hagley Oval.
The Pakistani captain led his team to two victories in a row in the competition with an unbeaten 79 off 53 balls at a strike rate of 149.05 during a successful run chase of 148. On Friday, the Green Shirts defeated Bangladesh in their opening game at the same location.
After choosing to bat first, the Black Caps appeared to be on course for a modest total at Hagley Oval before Chapman’s 32 off 16 balls, which featured three fours and two sixes.
New Zealand laid the foundation of their innings through opener Devon Conway (36 off 35) and captain Kane Williamson (31 off 30), although both struggled for timing during a 61-run stand for the second wicket.
It was another frustrating outcome for the accomplished Williamson, who has passed 50 on just two occasions in all formats over the last 18 months, a period that has encompassed 29 innings.
He was clean-bowled attempting a slog-sweep off-spinner Mohammad Nawaz, while Chapman holed out to a slower ball from Pakistan’s best bowler, paceman Haris Rauf (3-28).
Pakistan fielded an identical team to that which opened the series with a 21-run win over Bangladesh at the same Hagley Oval venue on Friday, built around an unbeaten 78 from opener Mohammad Rizwan.
“We started off well with the bat. Rizwan and I wanted to utilize the first six overs,” Babar Azam, who held the chase together with his 79 in 53 balls at a terrific strike-rate of 149 said in his post-match interview “We have a plan to utilize Shadab up the order to use his skills. He applied himself very well. I told him I’ll go all the way and Shadab would take the chances. When we settled down to see the wicket and conditions, I planned to play till the end. (Surface?) Little bit different due to dew, maybe little bit spinners are finding it hard due to the dew.”
“Certainly, wasn’t polished. Bit scrappy,” Losing Captain Williamson said “We came up against a quality opposition. Pakistan was clinical and it was hard to get a rhythm. If we got two big overs there, the total would’ve been competitive.”
The three teams are using the week-long tournament to prepare for the T20 World Cup in Australia this month.
Teams
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson (captain), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Michael Bracewell, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Blair Tickner.
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Wasim, Haris Rauf, Shahnawaz Dahani.
