Pakistan secured a thrilling 26-run victory over New Zealand in the third match of the one-day series held at the National Stadium, Karachi. New Zealand’s innings came to an end at 261 in the 50th over, having been bowled out by the Pakistani team.
During the match, Tom Blundell made an impressive contribution of 65 runs for the New Zealand team. Cole McConkey, who made his international cricket debut, showcased his talent by scoring 64 runs and remained unbeaten when he returned to the pavilion. Captain Tom Latham’s innings came to an end at 45, while Will Young added 33 runs to the team’s total. Daryl Mitchell scored 21 runs, and Mark Chapman contributed 13 runs before getting out.
Pakistan’s bowling attack proved to be quite effective as Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Mohammad Wasim claimed 2 wickets each during the match. Agha Salman also played his part by taking 1 wicket, contributing to the team’s victory over New Zealand.
In the first innings, Pakistan took on the batting responsibility after calling out to bat first by New Zealand. They posted a competitive total of 287 runs for the loss of 6 wickets within the allocated 50 overs.
Imam-ul-Haq played a remarkable innings, contributing 90 runs to Pakistan’s total. Captain Babar Azam also showcased his batting prowess with a solid knock of 54 runs. Muhammad Rizwan added 32 runs to the team’s score, while Agha Salman contributed 31 runs. Abdullah Shafiq and Fakhar Zaman both made valuable contributions of 19 runs each before returning to the pavilion.
Muhammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan remained not out till the end of the innings, having made valuable contributions to Pakistan’s total.
New Zealand’s bowlers put up a decent performance, with Matt Henry being the most successful with 3 wickets to his name. Adam Mullen also took 2 wickets, while Cole McConkey picked up 1 wicket during the match.
