END OF OVER:43 | 8 Runs 2 Wkts | PAK: 182/10 (80 runs required from 42 balls, RR: 4.23, RRR: 11.42)
- Naseem Shah0 (2b)
- Ish Sodhi8-0-38-2
- Mitchell Santner10-0-34-1
So we head into the series decider on Friday, the 13th. It is locked at 1-1 for now, with the tour-concluding game in Karachi yet again. Today's was an up-and-down game, and Deiva Muthu's report captures it all. And until the third ODI, it is goodbye and goodnight from us! Thanks for your company.
Kane Williamson, the winning captain: "You never really know a 100% [on what to do after winning the toss]. We had Ish Sodhi, who has been bowling really well. Even though we had a good partnership, maybe 300 wasn't realistic... we got to a par total in the end. We knew it would be a tough chase. We knew we had to get little bit out of the surface, and the two seamers set the tone for us."
Babar Azam, the Pakistan captain: "We came back well with the bat. But when the spinners came on, it was turning sharply. Credit to them. Rizwan and I wanted to take deep, and then analyse from the 40th over onwards. When Agha came, we thought of moving on. Today the spinners were getting a lot more help. The pitch in Karachi is always better in the second innings, but played differently today."
Devon Conway is the Player of the Match for his 101 off 92 balls: "We certainly were targetting 300, especially after the partnership [with Williamson]. I've got to give a lot of credit to Kane. I felt under pressure, and he kept on saying 'If it's tough now, it's going to be tougher later'. Spinners landed in very good areas, and asked good questions."
Time for the presentations
The pitch turned and bounced a lot, and New Zealand ended up using four spinners, whose combined figures read 5 for 114 in 30 overs - a run rate of less than four an over. Conway hit 101, and Williamson got 85. But the Player of the Match could yet be Santner, who scored a vital 37 at the death, and restricted Pakistan. Hang around for the presentations though.
Tautoru: "This win in a see-sawing game has sent NZ back to the top of the table"
Mitchell Santner speaks after the win: "With the ball, we were a lot tighter. Our lines and lengths were good. It definitely spun more. Nawaz bowled exceptionally well. We were reasonably happy with the score. We needed wickets early, and we were able to break the partnership between Rizwan and Babar, which we couldn't do last game."
Matthew Vincent: "Never did I think for one minute NZ would win by 80 runs after blowing what looked like a certain 350 score and falling 100 runs short.... absolutely crazy"
10.04pm An ODI from the 1990s. A slow, sluggish pitch where run-scoring got difficult as the match wore on, and a total of 261 proved more than enough. There was a lot of questioning about Williamson's decision to bat first with dew expected in the second innings. But there is a reason why he is the captain: the dew never came, and the ball turned sharply throughout Pakistan's innings. It was a see-sawing game all right: a collapse of 9 for 78 from 183 for 1 for New Zealand, when 300 seemed well within grab. A slide and slip from 64 for 2 in the 20th over with two set batters in for Pakistan.
Haris Rauf c Bracewell b Sodhi 0 (4m 3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Rauf walks in, while the crowd heads out
Babar Azam st †Latham b Sodhi 79 (170m 114b 8x4 1x6) SR: 69.29
Qaddy: "Imagine Shadab"
END OF OVER:42 | 2 Runs 1 Wkt | PAK: 174/8 (88 runs required from 48 balls, RR: 4.14, RRR: 11.00)
- Naseem Shah0 (2b)
- Babar Azam71 (111b)
- Mitchell Santner10-0-34-1
- Ish Sodhi7-0-30-0
Naseem at No. 10, but at the non-striker's end for now
Mohammad Wasim (1) run out 10 (13m 13b 1x4 0x6) SR: 76.92
90 off 54. When does Babar attack?
END OF OVER:41 | 6 Runs | PAK: 172/7 (90 runs required from 54 balls, RR: 4.19, RRR: 10.00)
- Babar Azam69 (109b)
- Mohammad Wasim10 (11b)
- Ish Sodhi7-0-30-0
- Mitchell Santner9-0-32-1