KARACHI – New Zealand beat Pakistan by five wickets in the final to clinch the Tri-Nation ODI series at National Bank Stadium in Karachi on Friday evening.
Chasing a below-par 243-run target, New Zealand crossed the finish line with five wickets in hand and 28 balls to spare despite losing Will Young (5) in the second over.
Daryl Mitchell was the top scorer for the Kiwis with 57 runs, followed by Tom Latham, who contributed valuable 56 runs. Devon Conway made 48, Kane Williamson 34, and Glenn Philips 20.
Naseem Shah bagged two wickets, while Salman Agha, Abrar Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi took one wicket each. Will O’Rourke was named player of the match. Salman Agha grabbed the player of the series award.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first on a two-paced track, Pakistan were all out on 242 runs on the third ball of the last over of the innings.
Skipper Mohammad Rizwan was the top scorer with 46 runs, followed by Salman Agha, who made 45. Tayyab Tahir contributed 38, Babar Azam 29, Faheem Asraf 22, Naseem Shah 19 and Fakhar Zaman 10 runs.
Will O’Rourke bagged four wickets, and Michael Bracewell and skipper Mitchell Santner two each, while Nathan Smith and Jacob Duffy took one wicket each.
