On Friday, New Zealand won the tri-nations series final against Pakistan by five wickets, thanks to Will O’Rourke’s four wickets and half-centuries from Daryl Mitchell and Tom Latham. With two for 43, O’Rourke helped to dismiss Pakistan for a total of 242 in 49.3 overs, and Mitchell’s 57 on 58 balls anchored the chase at Karachi’s National stadium as the Black Caps finished at 243 for 5 in 45.2 overs. It is a good boost to the New Zealanders two days before the Champions Trophy opener against the same opponents at this venue.
New Zealand lost opener Will Young for five in the first over of pacer Naseem Shah, before Devon Conway and Kane Williamson steadied the chase with a second-wicket stand of 71 runs.
Williamson was dismissed when he came down the wicket to finger-spinning Salman Agha, while Naseem returned for his second spell to get rid of Conway.
The chase for the tourists faltered at 108-3, but Mitchell found an able ally in Latham, who made 56, as the two added 87 runs for the fourth wicket.
When Mitchell was caught and bowled by Abrar Ahmed, the tourists needed just 48 runs which Latham and Glenn Phillips brought down to ten.
Mitchell struck six boundaries in his innings, while Latham’s 64-ball innings had five fours.
Naseem was once again the best in his otherwise ineffective Pakistan bowling attack with 2-43 from eight overs.
“It feels great to win tonight,” New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner said.
“It’s great to see different guys put their hand up at different times, but it doesn’t mean much until we play that first game at the Champions Trophy.”
Losing captain Mohammad Rizwan praised the New Zealand bowlers.
“We were looking at a target of 280 plus but their bowlers put a squeeze on us,” said Rizwan.
“We ended up 15 runs short as my wicket was crucial and we lost our way.”
Earlier, spinners Santner (2-20) and Michael Bracewell (2-38) supported O’Rourke to limit total runs by Pakistan.
Rizwan was the top scorer with 46 runs off 76 balls, while Agha Salman hit 45 off 65; chasing the ball was tough on National stadium pitch owing to slow and variable bounce.
Pakistan suffered the loss of openers Zaman Fakhar at 10, caught by O’Rourke in the fourth over, and Saud Shakeel (8).
Babar Azam, however, looked good for his 29 runs, hitting four boundaries and one six. During innings on 10, he completed 6,000 runs in One Day Internationals.
He was playing his 123rd innings, joint fastest along with Pakistan’s Hashim Amla to have reached the vi-thousand-run mark.
Azam was undone while attempting a square-cut off Nathan Smith, leaving Pakistan struggling at 54-3.
Rizwan and Agha had reviled innings with a stand of 88, having shared a match-winning partnership of 260 against South Africa last Wednesday.
Rizwan, who had four boundaries and a six under his belt, and Agha both fell within-19 runs of each other, ending any hope of a challenging total.
Tayyab Tahir’s 38 came off just 33 balls, including four fours and a six, as Faheem Ashraf (22) and Naseem (19) added 39 invaluable runs between them to see Pakistan through to 240.
