Pakistan bat with Faheem back; Duffy, Smith in for New Zealand in ...

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Pakistan bat with Faheem back Duffy Smith in for New Zealand in

Tri-Nation 2024/25, Pakistan vs New Zealand Match Report: Tayyab Tahir, with 38 off 33 was the only batter with a strike rate greater than 100, while no one scored more than 50

Pakistan 242 (Rizwan 46, Salman 45, O'Rourke 4-43, Santner 2-20) vs New Zealand

No Lockie Ferguson (hamstring injury). No Matt Henry (minor knee niggle). No Ben Sears (hamstring injury and also out of Champions Trophy). No problem for New Zealand as Will O'Rourke led the seam attack admirably and their fingerspinners throttled Pakistan, on a two-paced Karachi surface, in the tri-series final.

New Zealand's captain and premier spinner Mitchell Santner, especially, sounded out a warning to Pakistan with exceptional figures of 10-1-20-2, five days before the two teams meet again in the Champions Trophy opener at this very venue.

Santner did not concede a single boundary on the day, varying his pace from the mid-70s range to the mid-90s range with immaculate control. Forty of his 60 balls were dots as Santner came away with his most economical ten-over spell in ODI cricket.

After hitting hard lengths and the splice of batters with high pace and bounce in the early exchanges, O'Rourke came back at the death to befuddle Pakistan's lower order with his slower variations. When he had Naseem Shah holing out for 19, Pakistan were dismissed for 242, with three balls unused in their innings.

That Pakistan got there, after opting to bat, was largely down to Tayyab Tahir's lively 38 off 33 balls. He was the only batter in the top seven to strike at over 100.

The first powerplay was a portent for Pakistan's go-slow. They played out 48 dots in the powerplay, in which they managed 48 for 2, and failed to hit a high tempo through the innings.

After taking a sequence of short balls away from Fakhar Zaman with his sharp angle from over the wicket, including two off-side wides, O'Rourke brought a fuller one back into the opener and had him chipping a catch to square leg for 10 off 15 balls.

Babar Azam then brought the Karachi crowd alive when he laced Jacob Duffy through the covers for four and became the joint fastest to 6000 ODI runs, in his 123rd innings, alongside Hashim Amla. Nathan Smith, the seam-bowling allrounder, though spoiled the party when he had Babar spooning a return catch for 29 off 34 balls in his first over.

By then, Michael Bracewell, the offspinner, had also struck in his first over to castle Saud Shakeel with a quick dart that skidded in. Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan needed 13 balls to get off the mark and then four more balls to find the boundary. Salman Agha was more fluent at the other end, wedging the ball into the gaps, as the pair forged an 88-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

The stand, however, ended when O'Rourke returned with the older ball and had Rizwan chopping on with a cross-seamer, which stopped on him, for 46 off 76 balls. Almost five overs later, Bracewell had Salman miscuing a reverse-sweep to short third to leave Pakistan at 161 for 5 in the 37th over.

Tahir then gave the innings a leg-up with his attacking enterprise, but his innings was cut short by Duffy in the 42nd over. In the last eight overs, New Zealand conceded just four boundaries, limiting Pakistan to 242.