Istafa Ali
The third ODI in Karachi was won by Pakistan by 26 runs thanks to a brilliant bowling performance by the host team on Wednesday that helped bowl out New Zealand for 261.
With the victory, Pakistan has now successfully concluded the five-match series 3-0, their first triumph against the Kiwis in twelve years.
New Zealand was given 288 runs to chase, but they continued losing wickets at regular intervals. Opening pair Tom Blundell and Will Young gave their team a strong start, but a number of fast wickets came after their departure.
The majority of New Zealand’s runs, 65, were scored by Blundell. Cole McConchie eventually battled but was unable to help New Zealand over the finish line. Skipper Tom Latham scored 45 runs. Six boundaries and two maximums were among his 63 unbeaten runs.
Mohammad Wasim Jr., Naseem Shah, and Shaheen Shah Afridi each claimed two wickets for Pakistan. Agha Salman took one wicket home.
Imam-ul-Haq, a left-handed opener who was given the opportunity to bat first in the first innings, led Pakistan from the front as New Zealand’s disciplined bowling helped to hold them to 287-6.
Earlier, Fakhar Zaman left the game after recording two straight hundreds in the first two ODIs of this series. In today’s match, the left-handed hitter struggled to establish a rhythm and was forced to quit after losing his wicket to Matt Henry.
Alongside captain Babar Azam, Imam played well from the previous two games. The two hitters collaborated for an impressive 108 runs while sharing the crease. Babar reached his 26th fifty as this was happening, however, he fell short of reaching 5,000 ODI runs. Only 19 runs separate him from this accomplishment.
Imam, on the other hand, was poised to finally record a century in this series. But he stumbled on the anxious 90 once more. Seven home runs and a six were part of his inning.
In the end, Mohammad Rizwan and Agha Salman attempted to add some runs for Pakistan. They each scored 54 runs in total.
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In the end, Pakistan’s total was defendable thanks to cameo performances from Shadab Khan (21*) and Mohammad Nawaz (11*).
Henry secured three wickets for New Zealand while Adam Milne claimed two. Cole McConchie succeeded in taking a wicket as well.
