Pakistan defeated New Zealand by 5 wickets with 9 balls to spare in the first match of the 5-match ODI series. Batting first, New Zealand scored 288 runs at the loss of 7 wickets. Pakistan won the match by scoring 291 runs for 5 wickets in 48.3 overs. For Pakistan, opener Fakhar Zaman played an inning of 117 runs in 114 balls. This is his 9th century. Imam-ul-Haq also scored 60 runs.
This is Pakistan’s 500th win in ODI cricket. Pakistan is the third country to do so, after Australia and India. Pakistan is the second-fastest team to reach this point. They have registered their 500th win in 949 ODIs. Australia is number one and achieved this feat in 811 matches. Australia sits at the top of the list with 594 wins, followed by India with 539 wins.
Chasing the target of 289 runs, Pakistan got off to a good start. Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq laid the foundation of victory by sharing 124 runs for the first wicket. After this, captain Babar Azam, who came to bat at number three, played an inning of 49 runs. After his dismissal, Mohammad Rizwan played an unbeaten inning of 42 runs in 34 balls giving the team victory in the 49th over. With this, Pakistan took a 1-0 lead in the 5 ODI series. Adam Milne took 2 wickets for New Zealand. Blair Tickner and Ish Sodhi got 1-1 wickets.
Earlier in the match, with the help of Daryl Mitchell’s second century, New Zealand scored 288 runs while batting first. Mitchell shared a century partnership with Will Young for the second wicket. Young also played an inning of 86 runs in just 78 balls. Both of them laid the foundation for a big score for New Zealand. But, in the death overs, Pakistani bowlers bowled well. Especially Naseem Shah did not give Kiwi batters a chance to score runs in the beginning and then in the end. Naseem took 2 wickets for 29 runs in 10 overs and did not allow New Zealand to cross 300.
