New Zealand vs Pakistan, 5th ODI - 5 Talking Points

After getting annihilated in the first few games so badly, Pakistan finally managed to throw a decent fight against New Zealand on Friday. But as it turned out, their fightback wasn’t good enough to win them the contest. The first hard-fought game of the series came finished with New Zealand winning the contest by 15 runs.

Martin Guptill’s century and Ross Taylor’s valiant 59 helped them post a decent 271 runs on board. Colin Munro and Colin de Grandhomme chipped in with crucial contributions. Pakistan lost their top order cheaply, but Haris Sohail and Shadab Khan stitched a brilliant partnership. Towards the end, the tail showed great character in closing the game down, but Matt Henry eventually won his team the game.

Here are the five talking points from the final game of the series

1. Ton number 13 for Guptill

Ever since Brendon McCullum retired, Martin Guptill has been playing the aggressor’s role at the top. This knock was a little different though as he had to be a little cautious on occasions. He constructed his innings beautifully and brought up a majestic hundred in front of a packed house at the Basin Reserve. This was Guptill’s 13th ODI hundred and is inching closer towards 6,000 ODI runs.

2. An excellent return for Matt Henry

Matt Henry remained out of the side for a while due to an injury, but he’s back with a bang. He removed Pakistan’s top three inside the Powerplay overs and broke their backbone. He bowled the crucial penultimate over with Pakistan getting closer to the target. He held his nerve and managed to pick up the final wicket and earn a decent win for his side. He returned with figures of 4/53.

3. Shadab shines with bat and ball

He was a tad unlucky with the ball, but Shadab is proving to be a fine prospect in Pakistani cricket. After bowling a terrific spell, giving away just 35 runs in 10 overs, the only drawback was the “Zero” appearing in the wickets column. With wickets falling at regular intervals, He stitched an outstanding partnership with Haris Sohail to help his side come agonizingly close to the target. It happened to be his second fifty in his short-little ODI career.

4. Pakistani tail throws a decent fight

That was a real test of character for the visitors and they came out with flying colors. The game clearly was done and dusted when Shadab and Haris Sohail fell in quick succession. But Faheem Ashraf, Aamer Yamin, and Mohammad Nawaz really fought till the end to bring them very close. Since the Kiwis had done the bulk of the damage earlier, they managed to squeeze this game towards the end.

5. Mitchell Santner torments the middle order

For any subcontinental side, the worst thing they can imagine is a non-Asian spinner bamboozling them. Shane Warne is always an exception for this, on point! But the way Mitchell Santner bowled today was an absolute treat to watch and he really made the visitors struggle to pick him up. He returned with figures of 3/40 and played a crucial role in silencing their middle order.

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