New Zealand vs Pakistan 1st ODI - 5 Talking Points

Kiwis started the limited-overs home series with a romping victory over the Pakistan team by 61 runs in the 1st ODI match in Wellington. Though, the game suffered a dramatic ending as the rain played the spoilsport in the 31st over of the second innings. New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson led his team from the front and scored a magnificent hundred to propel his side to a definite first innings total of 315 runs. While, the visiting team struggled both with the bat and ball, but still opener Fakhar Zaman’s crucial unbeaten knock of 82 runs went in vain, as wickets continued to crumble from the other end.

When the rain arrived during the 31st over of the game, Pakistan’s score read 166/6, trailing by 61 runs from the DLS score. Zaman was battling hard on one end, but he couldn’t get any support from the rest of his team. Kiwi fast bowler Tim Southee dented the visitors with three early blows which increased the pressure on the rest of the batting. In the end, Pakistan’s nine-match winning streak ended after the match couldn’t start after the rain interruption.

Here are the five talking points from the first ODI between New Zealand and Pakistan:

1. Williamson scores a fabulous ton

The Kiwi openers Martin Guptill and the in-form Colin Munro gave their team a flying start as the duo added 83 runs for the first wicket in just 12 overs. But after Munro’s dismissal, skipper Williamson recorded an incredible hundred which laid the foundation for a huge first innings total. He scored 115 runs at a staggering rate which included eight fours and one big strike. The skipper was awarded the Man of the Match for his match-winning performance in the first match of the series.

2. Hasan Ali fires yet again

While the Kiwi top order was ripping the Pakistani bowlers at one terminal, but the visiting team’s new lead bowler Hasan Ali picked up eighth three-wicket haul in the last ten one-day international games. Ali removed opposition’s in-form opener Colin Munro who was looking to take the attack towards the Pakistani bowlers. He then returned to take the crucial wickets of Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls, which romped the hosts’ progress.

3. Tim Southee dents the visitors with 3 early wickets

After being set a huge target of 316 runs, the visitors didn’t get off to the ideal start to their big chase. The Kiwi new ball pair of Tim Southee and Trent Boult kept picking up the early wickets to dent the opposition team. Southee bagged three crucial blows which included the top batsmen in the likes of Azhar Ali, Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik, which reduced the visitors crumbling at 37/4.

4. Fakhar Zaman remain unbeaten at one end

During the dramatic collapse, opener Fakhar Zaman looked like the lone warrior for his side as he remained unbeaten in the rain-marred game with an unmoved knock of 82 runs. But the rest of the batters failed to lend a supporting hand to the opener who was looking in a mood for something special before the rain halted the game. He also scored an unbeaten hundred during the practice match against New Zealand XI team which guided his team towards victory in the warm-up fixture.

5. Rain plays the spoilsport in the 1st ODI

The chase was going nowhere, as the visitors needed 150 runs in 20 overs with just four wickets in hand. But as the game of cricket is just unpredictable, anything can happen on the field as Zaman was scoring nicely from one end that could guide his team towards a big win. But during the 31st over, rain interruption played the spoilsport leaving the Pakistani team trailing by 61 runs from the DLSpar score. The light drizzle didn’t stop and the officials decided to call-off the game, which propelled the hosts to a victory by 61 runs over the visitors in the rain-marred game.