New Zealand thrash Pakistan in second ODI to win series as Sears takes 5

HAMILTON: After Mitchell Hay scored an unbeaten 99 to lead New Zealand to a total of 292 runs, the Kiwis bowling attack, spearheaded by Ben Sears, dismantled Pakistan’s batting line-up to win the second ODI and the series. New Zealand won by 84 runs.

While Hay impressed with the bat, Sears stood out with the ball, as he took his first five ODI wickets in his third ever match.

New Zealand’s Innings

An opening stand of 54 runs between Nick Kelly and Rhys Mariu got New Zealand off to a good start before the former was caught behind on a delivery from Haris Rauf, giving Pakistan their first breakthrough of the match. Kelly made 31 runs off 23 deliveries. 

Pakistan continued to build momentum, with Mariu being caught out by Babar Azam in the tenth over, on a delivery from Mohammad Wasim. The Kiwi opener made 18 runs off 25 deliveries. New Zealand struggled to build another solid partnership, with Daryl Mitchell and Henry Nichols only managing to score 29 runs together before the former was stumped in the 16th over on a delivery from Sufiyan Muqeem. Nichols would be sent off himself in the very next over via lbw on a delivery from Aqib Javed.

Kiwi skipper Michael Bracewell and Mohammad Abbas put up 30 runs together, before Bracewell was caught behind in the 27th over, giving Wasim his second wicket of the game. However, New Zealand would finally get the partnership they were looking for as Mitchell Hay joined Abbas on the pitch and together the two scored 77 runs off 80 deliveries. Abbas was caught out in the 40th over by Abdullah Shafique, giving Muqeem his second wicket of the game. 

Hay went on to score an unbeaten 99 runs, 20 of which came from four consecutive boundaries on the last four balls of the innings. He hit two back to back sixes, before hitting two back to back fours. In total, Hay smashed 14 boundaries, including seven fours and seven sixes.

New Zealand set a target of 293 for Pakistan, losing eight wickets along the way.

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Pakistan’s Innings

The men in green immediately got off to a rough start, as opener Shafique was caught out by Mitchell in just the third over, on a delivery from Will O’Rourke. Shafique only managed to score one run. 

That was only the beginning of Pakistan’s troubles, as Babar was caught out by Nicholls on the third ball he faced, which was the first delivery by Jacob Duffy, only scoring on run as well. Not long after, Imam-ul-Haq was caught out in the sixth over, as Mitchell gave Duffy his second wicket of the game. He made three runs off 12 deliveries. 

Salman Agha was the next to fall after only scoring nine runs off 15 deliveries. He was caught out by Smith, giving Ben Sears his first ever ODI wicket. Mohammad Rizwan did even worse. The skipper was sent off just a few balls after Agha, making only five runs off 27 deliveries before being caught behind.

Pakistan’s first substantial partnership came between Faheem Ashraf and Tayyab Tahir, with the two scoring 33 runs off 55 balls. Tahir was caught out by Sears in the 21st over on a delivery from Smith. However, Faheem continued on, putting together the best knock for Pakistan as his teammates Wasim and Javed were sent off, giving Sears and Duffy each their third wicket of the match respectively. 

Haris Rauf retired hurt in the 25th over after suffering a blow on his helmet. He didn’t pass the mandatory concussion test and left the field. 

Together with Naseem Shah, Faheem put on a 65 run partnership, Pakistan’s largest of the match, before the 31-year-old all-rounder was caught behind in the 28th over, giving Sears another wicket. Faheem scored 73 runs off 80 deliveries, hitting six fours and three sixes in the process.

Naseem Shah went on to score his first ever ODI half century in the 41st over, bringing up the milestone in style with a four. He scored a total of 51 runs off 44 deliveries before being caught behind in the 42nd over on a delivery from Sears, giving the 27-year-old his fifth ever ODI wicket.

New Zealand won the second ODI by 84 runs, closing out the three match series. They will have the opportunity to white wash Pakistan on Saturday, April 5.

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