Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Match Centre

Statistics

Best performances - Batsmen

Imam-ul-Haq
Imam-ul-Haq
90(107) 7x4 - 1x6
Control %87%
  • Productive Shot
  • flick
  • 29 runs
  • 3x4 - 0x6
15 13 5 8 22 8 10 9
TA Blundell
65(78) 7x4 - 0x6
Control %87%
  • Productive Shot
  • flick
  • 24 runs
  • 3x4 - 0x6
7 12 7 2 14 7 7 9

Best performances - Bowlers

MJ Henry
MJ Henry
O10
M2
R54
W3
Eco5.40
RHB
OFFLEG
1W
1W
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF
1W
Naseem Shah
Naseem Shah
O8.1
M0
R42
W2
Eco5.14
RHB
OFFLEG
1W
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF
1W

Match Details

Toss

New Zealand , elected to field first

Player Of The Match

Series result

Pakistan led the 5-match series 3-0

Match number

Season

Hours of play (local time)

15.30 start, First Session 15.30-19.00, Interval 19.00-19.40, Second Session 19.40-23.10

Match days

3 May 2023 - day/night match (50-over match)

TV Umpires

Reserve Umpire

Match Referee

Scorer: Sudeep Poojar | Commentator: Shashwat Kumar

11:48pm Right. That will be that from us for tonight. Pakistan have now taken an unassailable lead in this series but as Babar said, they want to use these next two games to put in two more strong displays. Do join us when these teams convene again on Friday but until next time, this is me (Shashwat) signing off on behalf of Rvel, Sudeep and everyone at ESPNcricinfo! Goodbye, goodnight and take care!

Imam-ul-Haq, Player of the Match: (On his partnership with Fakhar) When you play for the last six years with the same opener, it helps. We knew these wickets would not be the same as Rawalpindi wickets, so it was important to give respect. We knew it was a 280-290 track. We are planning and so far, it has been very good for us (Fakhar and me). Me and Babar were talking about getting a good partnership. If we got out, it would be difficult for the middle order. We were thinking of 260 but it helped to get to a good position after 40 overs.

Babar Azam, Pakistan captain: The pitch was a little slow but the partnership that Imam and I built. Then, the way Rizwan played and the way Shadab finished - it got us up to 280. The bowlers were also outstanding. Shadab and Nawaz started well but unfortunately Nawaz got hit. Agha bowled nine overs and that was outstanding. In ODIs, we are trying to chase 350 and trying to defend 300 as well. That is what we are trying to do day by day. Focus is now to not relax and come out strongly for the next two matches. (On bench strength) We tried to do it in the second game and we tried communicating that. We did that in T20Is as well and hopefully we can do that moving forward, with back-to-back series. Hopefully we can continue to give our 100%.

Tom Latham, New Zealand captain: It (the pitch) probably slowed up a little bit. Just a couple of partnerships here and there, and things could have been a little different. We struggled a touch in the middle. At the half-way mark, we were happy and the bowlers certainly improved after the first two games. From a batting point of view, we had a really good start. We just could not continue that momentum after we lost a couple of wickets. When you are chasing scores like that, you need back-to-back partnerships. We were not quite at our best (from a batting point of view) today.

11:26pm That turned into a fairly comfortable victory for Pakistan in the end. That, though, did not seem to be the case when New Zealand's openers were going strong. Once Young fell, courtesy of some brilliant Pakistan fielding, the hosts established a foothold. Their spinners tightened the screws and it built pressure on the Kiwis.

That pressure told as Blundell ran himself out and Mitchell perished trying to clear the fence. Latham tried his best to take the game deep but without much support from his middle order, departed in the 42nd over. McConchie, on debut, notched up a fifty and played a few attractive strokes. The Black Caps, however, were well behind in the game by then.

Pakistan, meanwhile, would be pleased with how they bowled. They were not very effective in the powerplay but stuck to their lines and lengths in the middle phases. The wickets were shared and whenever New Zealand tried to up the ante, Pakistan held their nerve.

49.1
W
Naseem Shah to McConchie, 1 run, OUT, that will be that! Pakistan win by 26 runs! Full and angled into the stumps. McConchie shanks it towards long on and Henry decides that he wants to go back for the second. The fielder, though, is alert enough to pick it up cleanly and fire it at the bowler's end. Naseem does the rest and Henry, despite the dive, is well short of his ground!

MJ Henry run out 1 (6m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 100.00

Naseem to bowl the final over. NZ need 28

END OF OVER:
49 | 7 Runs 1 Wkt | NZ: 260/9 (28 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 5.30, RRR: 28.00)

  • Cole McConchie63 (44b)
  • Matt Henry1 (1b)
  • Shaheen Shah Afridi9-0-53-2
  • Naseem Shah8-0-41-2
48.6
1
Shaheen Shah Afridi to McConchie, 1 run, slower delivery on a length outside off stump. McConchie almost swings himself off his feet but can only chop it back towards the keeper
48.5
1
Shaheen Shah Afridi to Henry, 1 run, full delivery on leg stump. Henry backs away and drills it down the ground towards long off for a single

Henry is the last batter in

48.4
W
Shaheen Shah Afridi to Sodhi, OUT, sizzling yorker and it gets the better of Sodhi! Excellent yorker that hones in on off stump. Sodhi tries to jam it out into the off side but is late on the stroke. The ball whistles past the bat before smashing into off stump!

IS Sodhi b Shaheen Shah Afridi 1 (7m 3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 33.33

48.3
1
Shaheen Shah Afridi to McConchie, 1 run, back of a length delivery at the stumps that gets big on McConchie. He has a swipe at it anyway and splices it towards deep mid wicket
48.2
4
Shaheen Shah Afridi to McConchie, FOUR, 31 off 10 now! In the slot on middle and off stump. McConchie clears his front leg and razes it between deep mid wicket and long on!

35 off 11 now. Shaheen continues from around the wiicket

New Zealand in Pakistan 2023 News

New Zealand 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st83TA BlundellWA Young
2nd30DJ MitchellTA Blundell
3rd15TWM LathamTA Blundell
4th40TWM LathamMS Chapman
5th3TWM LathamHM Nicholls
6th25TWM LathamCE McConchie
7th31AF MilneCE McConchie
8th19CE McConchieHB Shipley
9th12CE McConchieIS Sodhi
10th3MJ HenryCE McConchie