New Zealand vs Pakistan, 2018 - Combined XI of the ODI series

A series that shall be remembered in the future as “One-Way Traffic”, New Zealand showed Pakistan how brutal they are at home. Their batsmen and bowlers chipped in collectively to salvage a breathtaking 5-0 whitewash in the ODI series. From the skipper Kane Williamson to the epic duo of Southee-Boult, everything went right for the hosts.

In stark contrast, Pakistan succumbed very horrendously in the first three games. Their bowlers kept leaking runs while the batsmen were no match to the Kiwi bowling attack. Skipper Sarfraz Ahmed has a lot of questions to answer, but he will be keen on turning things around in the upcoming 3-match T20I series. Here’s the combined XI of the ODI series.

Openers – Martin Guptill, Fakhar Zaman

Martin Guptill as always was scintillating at the top of the lineup. The dashing batter finished the series on a high with a breathtaking century in the 5th ODI. He will be accompanied by Fakhar Zaman in the opening department. The Pakistani southpaw was one of the few positives for the visitors in an otherwise horrendous batting display.

Middle order – Kane Williamson, Mohammad Hafeez, Ross Taylor

Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson got back amongst the runs with a couple of wonderful renditions. Accompanying him in the middle order will be the senior-pro Mohammad Hafeez and Henry Nicholls. Hafeez didn’t have the best of the series’ but he wasn’t bad either. The case is a pretty similar with Ross Taylor as well, who played a couple of decent second-fiddle knocks to help his side go past the winning line.

Wicketkeeper – Tom Latham

Latham is a straightforward choice for the wicket-keeping duties. His opposite number Sarfaraz under-performed in the whole series, hence, not leading his side from the front. Latham is one such guy in the side every captain would love to have. He is ready to bat wherever his captain wants him to and there can barely be any arguments about his skills behind the stumps.

All-rounders – Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner

Colin de Grandhomme is slowly taking the upward path as far as his career is concerned. From a neutral’s perspective, to see do well is a joy. He worked hard to hold on to his place and is finally starting to repay the skipper’s faith.

Another excellent all-rounder who did a decent job in the series is Mitch Santner. He pulled off a breathtaking spell in the final ODI to make a mark. He has the ability to deliver with the bat as well and that adds further to his value.

Fast bowlers – Hasan Ali, Trent Boult, Tim Southee

The eternal combination of Trent Boult and Tim Southee was outstanding in this series, as always. Whenever a team visits New Zealand, both these bowlers more often than not manage to push them on the backfoot. Very under-rated, but a scintillating pair of Boult and Southee appearing in this XI is a no-brainer. ICC Emerging Player of the Year 2017 Hasan Ali was probably Pakistan’s best bowler in the series and he gets in the side without much debate.

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