PAK vs NZ 2nd ODI: New Zealand humiliate Pakistan by 84 runs in the 2nd ODI and clinch the series
BLACKCAPS CLINCH THE SERIES IN STYLE! They outperform the Men in Green, even without their best player from the previous game, with a strong performance that gives them an insurmountable 2-0 advantage. This triumph confirms New Zealand's position as a major force on the global scene and demonstrates the amazing depth of their game.
Taking full advantage of the cloudy conditions, New Zealand's bowlers were on fire from the first delivery, giving Pakistan no chance in this chase. With an early breakthrough, Will O'Rourke set the tone. He and Jacob Duffy bowled together, the latter taking two wickets, including the valuable one of Babar.
The pair was simply unplayable; they kept things tight and unsettled the hitters with some furious short balls, even though they didn't take any more wickets. Nathan Smith added one and Ben Sears took advantage of the pressure by hitting twice in his opening over. Even though Duffy added another wicket to his total, Sears was the star of the show, finishing with an incredible five-wicket haul.
Pakistan needed its senior players to step up, though, since they were chasing nearly 300, but they failed once more. They must reconsider as they go back to the drawing board to find solutions.
Earlier in the match,Mitchell Hay's remarkable unbeaten knock of 99 runs helped New Zealand reach 292 for eight in the second One Day Internationsk of the three-match series versus Pakistan at the Seddon Park in Hamilton on Wednesday.
Asked to bat first by Pakistani skipper Mohammad Rizwan, the brand new opening pair of the Kiwis, Nick Kelly & Rhys Mariu got off to a solid start, putting a 50-run stand for the opening wicket. However, their partnership got broken in the 6th over when the former was dismissed by seamer Haris Rauf after playing a good hand of 31 runs in 23 balls, leaving the hosts at 54-1.
In the 10th over, the Michael Bracewell-led side lost their second opening batter, Mariu, for 18 runs, as fast-bowling all-rounder Mohammad Wasim jr, dealt a blow to the hosts, leaving them under pressure at the score of 71-2.Daryl Mitchell, who walked out to bat at number four, played a run a ball knock of 18 runs in 18 deliveries before perishing to Sufiyan Muqeem, leaving New Zealand at 100-3.
The Blackcaps kept losing wickets at regular intervals, and in the very next over of the innings, Henry Nicholls (22 runs) got out after being caught plumb in front of the stumps and his dismissal left his team at a struggling score of 102-4 in 16.5 overs.
The duo of Muhammad Abbas and Captain Michael Bracewell then got involved in a partnership of 30 runs for the fifth wicket as they tried to steady the innings. However, Wasim Jr struck once again, removing the latter for 17 runs, further reducing the home side to 132-5 in 26.3 overs.
Following the dismissla of the New Zealand captain, wicketkeeper batter Mitchell Hay arrived at the crease and he alongside Abbas (41 runs) got involved in an important partnership of 77 runs for the sixth wicket and this relieved some pressure and helped their team reach a more combative position. However, Chinaman spinner Muqeem had some other plans as he ended the partnership of the two batter by getting rid of Abbas, which further reduced the hosts to 209-6 in 40 overs.
Despite the constant fall of wickets, Mitch Hay carried playing with composure, bringing up his maiden fifty in the format in 51 balls. However, Hay started to run out of partners at the other end as Faheen Ashraf dealt the Kiwis their seventh blow, getting the wicket of Nathan Smith (8 runs). This dismissal left the Black Caps at 236-7 in 45.1 overs.
New Zealand stood at 270-8 in 49 overs when Pakistan's captain, Muhammad Rizwan, ran out Ben Sears for a duck, costing the Blackcaps their eighth wicket.To help his team reach 292, Hay charged at Wasim Jr. in the final over and hit two fours and two sixes, attempting to set up a defendable total and win the series.
Although Pakistan's bowlers were able to claim wickets, they also gave up 32 extras, which included 12 leg byes and 20 wides.Faheem Ashraf, Akif Javed, and Haris Rauf each took one wicket, while Sufiyan Muqeem and Muhammad Wasim Jr. each claimed two.
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