Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Hope to see you again for the final ODI on Sunday. For now, on behalf of Shashwat Kumar, Binoy George, and Sudeep Poojari, I'm Rvel Zahid signing off. Good night and good bye!

A clinical win has lifted Pakistan to the top of the ICC ODI Rankings. It was a sensational all-round performance from the home side. The gulf between the sides grew as the series progressed. New Zealand showed flashes of what they are capable of but ultimately couldn't hold it together and keep the asking rate in check. They found it tough to hit boundaries against a well-oiled bowling unit. Latham and Chapman carried out some rebuilding work in the middle phase but timely strikes from Usama Mir and Mohammad Wasim Jnr made life onerous for the pair. Earlier, Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf bowled with typical hostility with the new ball and later Shaheen came back to snare New Zealand's skipper with a jaffa. The tourists will be looking for a consolation win on Sunday

Tom Latham, New Zealand Captain: "I think they played really well. They were able to set a platform despite losing wickets. Credit to the way they played, Babar played fantastically. It was about giving guys exposure and about understanding the conditions. It would have been nice to take the game deeper. We are trying to build partnerships and needed someone to bat through tonight, however, a big partnership was missing. We got one more opportunity to put a performance on the board."

Babar Azam, Pakistan Captain: "Credit goes to the entire team and support staff for becoming the No.1 ranked ODI team. We build the momentum and worked towards this goal. Everybody put in the effort and stuck together in difficult times. I think my journey has been good, I joined the camp on this very day nine years ago, and there have been ups and down, but the support from my family, PCB and above all my teammates has been amazing....when we started our innings, the wicket played well, I and Shan planned to build the innings. We felt it was 300 plus wicket, if you build a partnership you can get to that total but we lost a few wickets in the middle phase and then had to regroup. However, the way Shaheen batted, we got more runs than we expected. We planned that we will test our bench strength in this series and play with different combinations. We wanted to give a proper run to everybody and since there are big events coming up, we are happy to find 15-16 players for the (showpiece events)."

Afeef: "NZ could've brought back players like Guptill and Munro for this series as they are not busy with the IPL"

Zakir: "Amazed to see Pakistan team as ranked number 1 in ODI for the very first time "

Affan: "Fastest to 5000 runs. Scored his 18th ODI century. The No.1 batter. Took his team to No.1 as well (probably was feeling bored staying at the top all by himself, so he took the team with him). And of course, he gets the MoM. This is Babar's era"

Afrasiab Ahmed : "This day 5th May is to be remembered for ever in history of cricket, as on 5 May 2014 Babar got selected for Pakistan Camp and on 5 May 2023 he became the first ever batter to achieve 5000 mark in less than 100 innings I.e. 97."

Ezad Atta: "Wife and daughter watching some Korean Soap on Netflix so cricinfo is a life saver for me right now."

43.4
W
Mohammad Wasim to Tickner, OUT, Wrecked the stumps with a corker of a delivery! Pakistan have registered a comprehensive victory by 102 runs and climbed to the top of ODI rankings. A complete performance from the home side. New Zealand were no match to Pakistan's superior batting and bowling today. Pakistan made five changes to the team and everyone stepped up to the plate. Looks like it's a team that is shaping up nicely for the World Cup

BM Tickner b Mohammad Wasim 6 (14m 11b 0x4 0x6) SR: 54.54

Yasser Mirza : "Rvel Zahid, I am watching the match on TV but keeping the Cricinfo on for your commentary. Cricinfo is a Love " Glad, you're enjoying our coverage!

43.3
1
Mohammad Wasim to Lister, 1 run, Good length, follows the batter who was stepping away to the leg side, manages to shank it away to cover-point region
43.2
0
Mohammad Wasim to Lister, no run, Back of a length, sixth stump line outside off, gingerly prods at it, under-edges it to the keeper
43.1
1
Mohammad Wasim to Tickner, 1 run, Good length, angled into middle and leg, edges it down to fine leg

END OF OVER:
43 | 3 Runs 1 Wkt | NZ: 230/9 (105 runs required from 42 balls, RR: 5.34, RRR: 15.00)

  • Ben Lister0 (1b)
  • Blair Tickner5 (9b)
  • Usama Mir10-0-43-4
  • Mohammad Wasim8-1-38-2
42.6
0
Usama Mir to Lister, no run, Finishes a successful over with a googly on a length, it spun back into middle and off, fended to the leg side
42.5
W
Usama Mir to Henry, OUT, Holes out to Rauf at long-off! Smashes it right down his throat as he went hard against it, didn't get the requisite power behind the shot as Usama bags his fourth

MJ Henry c Haris Rauf b Usama Mir 5 (14m 5b 1x4 0x6) SR: 100.00

42.4
1
Usama Mir to Tickner, 1 run, Dabs it down through mid-off
42.3
0
Usama Mir to Tickner, no run, Beautifully disguised legbreak on a length, sharp turn as he tried to muscle it over midwicket but nowhere near the line
42.2
0
Usama Mir to Tickner, no run, That looked plumb in real time, it took a lot of persuasion from Usama before Babar decided to send it upstairs. Well , it pitched outside leg stump so that's that, Usama looking away from Babar now
42.1
2
Usama Mir to Tickner, 2 runs, Tossed up, fuller on off, inside-out drive over extra cover, lands short of the man in the deep

END OF OVER:
42 | 5 Runs | NZ: 227/8 (108 runs required from 48 balls, RR: 5.40, RRR: 13.50)

  • Matt Henry5 (4b)
  • Blair Tickner2 (5b)
  • Mohammad Wasim8-1-38-2
  • Usama Mir9-0-40-3
41.6
4
Mohammad Wasim to Henry, FOUR, Pings it down the ground, past the man at mid-on and it trundles away for four. Brilliant hit!
41.5
0
Mohammad Wasim to Henry, no run, Length ball on middle and off, clears his front leg and has a big mow down the ground, mistimes it to mid-on
41.4
1
Mohammad Wasim to Tickner, 1 run, Back of a length, saw him backing away and followed him outside leg stump, manages to get some bat on it as the ball dies down quickly close to Rizwan
41.3
0
Mohammad Wasim to Tickner, no run, Slightly shorter and angled into the stumps from over the wicket, loses his shape a little while trying to muscle it over midwicket
41.2
0
Mohammad Wasim to Tickner, no run, Short, bouncer down the leg side, just inside the guidelines, he ducks underneath it
41.1
0
Mohammad Wasim to Tickner, no run, Fraction short and wide of off, makes room and belts it down to extra cover

END OF OVER:
41 | 3 Runs 1 Wkt | NZ: 222/8 (113 runs required from 54 balls, RR: 5.41, RRR: 12.55)

  • Blair Tickner1 (1b)
  • Matt Henry1 (2b)
  • Usama Mir9-0-40-3
  • Mohammad Wasim7-1-33-2
40.6
1
Usama Mir to Tickner, 1 run, Tossed up, fuller on middle, patted towards square leg and he gallops across to the other end
40.5
W
Usama Mir to Sodhi, OUT, Leg-spinner flummoxes another leg-spinner! Biting legbreak, lots of flight as Sodhi comes down the track as the ball spins away sharply outside off, Rizwan quickly whips off the bails. Third scalp for Mir!

IS Sodhi st †Mohammad Rizwan b Usama Mir 9 (20m 14b 1x4 0x6) SR: 64.28

New Zealand in Pakistan 2023 News

New Zealand 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st36TA BlundellWA Young
2nd10DJ MitchellTA Blundell
3rd83DJ MitchellTWM Latham
4th55TWM LathamMS Chapman
5th17JDS NeeshamMS Chapman
6th4JDS NeeshamCE McConchie
7th14CE McConchieIS Sodhi
8th2MJ HenryIS Sodhi
9th9MJ HenryBM Tickner
10th2BM TicknerBG Lister