Pakistan vs New Zealand, 5th ODI, New Zealand tour of Pakistan ...

8 May 2023

Commentary

New Zealand lost four, but put up a spirited effort to seal a win tonight. We have seen some incredible games of cricket over the past couple of weeks, with the biggest takeaway being It's never over until it's over. The visitors drew the T20 series but couldn't quite replicate similar success in the longer format. We hope you had great fun following all the games. Plenty of action coming up in the next few weeks and for all the latest in cricket, keep checking this space. Until next time, cheers and goodbye!!

Henry Shipley is the Player of the Match but he was unavailable to chat. Babar now gets the trophy and he calls the team to join in on the celebrations. They pose for the cameras and all smiles in the Pakistan camp....

Tom Latham | New Zealand skipper: Great performance on the board. We probably got a par score and got wickets in the powerplay which we haven't done in the series and this was a complete performance. Shipley was able to find right lengths on this wicket and was really consistent at it. For us it is about improving from game to game and expose guys to different challenges at the international level. Wasn't an ideal result from the team's point of view but satisfied with the improved performance from game to game.

Babar Azam | Pakistan skipper: It was a brilliant series, but didn't finish it the way we wanted. We didn't do well with the bat at the top and Agha and Iftikhar got a good partnership but we left too many runs for them. We always have to be prepared to perform irrespective of the conditions. Needed to play better cricket today. Overall, it was a good series for the team and our bowlers did well throughout. We wanted to check the bench strength and there were a lot of positives to take from this series. We chased 300-plus and also defended under 300, so it was a good series for us.

Fakhar Zaman | Player of the Series: It doesn't happen the way you anticipate always in cricket. Thought of making big runs in Karachi, but didn't happen. Happy that we won the series. The mistakes I made in Karachi, I want to work on that and prepare well for the upcoming World Cup.

23:21 local, 18:21 GMT, 23:51 IST: A certain New Zealander helped his side win a T20 game in Jaipur and, a few minutes later New Zealand managed to clinch a consolation win in Karachi. The Kiwi fans must be cock-a-hoop. After posting a solid total on the board, New Zealand started off brilliantly with the ball. Didn't offer too many boundary balls at the start and that led to the failure of Pakistan's top four. Henry got the first breakthrough in the form of Masood and then Shipley chipped in with the crucial wickets of Babar and Rizwan. Rachin then bowled a brilliant spell and got rid of the in-form Fakhar while at it. Though Agha Salman and Iftikhar Ahmed stitched a near 100-run stand for the fifth wicket, the required rate was always gonna be a concern. The best bowler of the day, Shipley, yet again returned to break the partnership and the rest just succumbed to the required rate. Iftikhar played a brilliant hand and came really close to claiming his maiden international ton, but not to be!! After losing 4 on the trot, New Zealand will be delighted to head home with a consolation win. Presentations coming up, stay tuned...

46.1Matt Henry to Iftikhar Ahmed, out Haris Rauf Run Out!! 1 run completed. Finally, New Zealand managed to win an ODI. They win by 47 runs. This was drilled to the right of sweeper cover, looked like a risky second from the onset. Iftikhar Ahmed called two straightaway and Haris Rauf had no option but to respond. The fielder was quick to slide and stop, sensed a run-out opportunity at the bowling end and threw it flat to Henry who did well to palm the ball onto the stumps. Haris Rauf wasn't even in the frame despite the dive. Haris Rauf run out (McConchie/Matt Henry) 1(9)

Matt Henry to Iftikhar Ahmed, THATS OUT!! Run Out!!

Looks like Haris Rauf is run-out here! What an anti climax!! Out. Game over!!

PAK: 251-9 after 46 overs

45.6 Ravindra to Haris Rauf, no run, huge cheer from the crowd as Haris Rauf blocks it back to the bowler

45.5 Ravindra to Haris Rauf, no run, tossed up on off, Haris Rauf blocks it solidly into the off-side

45.4 Ravindra to Iftikhar Ahmed, 1 run, full on the stumps, driven down the ground towards long-on

45.3 Ravindra to Iftikhar Ahmed, 2 runs, quicker on off, Iftikhar Ahmed nudges it into the mid-wicket with soft hands and comes rushing back to complete the second

45.2 Ravindra to Iftikhar Ahmed, FOUR, short and wide of off, Iftikhar Ahmed jumps on the back foot and slams the cut to the left of backward point

45.1 Ravindra to Iftikhar Ahmed, FOUR, short on leg-stump, Iftikhar Ahmed sinks to one knee and paddles it away to the fine leg fence. The fielder at short fine was well wide and couldn't catch up with it...

Rachin Ravindra [9.0-0-54-3] is back into the attack

PAK: 240-9 after 45 overs

44.6 Shipley to Iftikhar Ahmed, 1 run, Latham can't get there! Iftikhar Ahmed mistimes the loft over extra cover. Latham ran back from cover and put in a last-second dive, unfortunately for New Zealand the ball landed just wide of his reach. Long-off tidies up and keeps it down to a single

44.6 Shipley to Iftikhar Ahmed, wide, slower delivery bowled too full and wide of off, Iftikhar Ahmed lets it pass

44.5 Shipley to Iftikhar Ahmed, SIX, high into the night sky and well over the boundary line! Slower delivery but that's too full and in the slot just outside off, Iftikhar Ahmed sits on one knee and dispatches it over mid-wicket for a mighty maximum

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