Pakistan's win over New Zealand was a dominant performance, with the hosts chasing down a target of 337 with ease. Fakhar Zaman was the star of the show, scoring an unbeaten 180 off just 144 balls. His innings included 17 boundaries and 6 sixes, and he missed out on a double century by just 20 runs. Zaman's innings was the highest individual score by a Pakistan batsman in a successful ODI run chase, and it cemented his reputation as one of the most destructive openers in world cricket.
Zaman's heroics were supported by some solid contributions from his teammates. Imam-ul-Haq (33), Babar Azam (65), and Mohammad Rizwan (54*) all played their part in the chase, with Babar and Rizwan putting on a crucial partnership of 119 runs for the fourth wicket. Babar's innings was particularly impressive, as he scored at a strike rate of over 98 and kept the run rate ticking over while Zaman was settling into his innings.
New Zealand had posted a challenging total of 336/5 in their 50 overs, thanks to a brilliant century from Daryl Mitchell (129 off 119 balls). Mitchell's innings was his second ODI hundred and featured 8 fours and 3 sixes. He shared a record-breaking partnership of 183 runs with Tom Latham, who scored a fluent 98 off just 85 balls. The partnership was the highest for the fourth wicket by any New Zealand pair in ODIs. Chad Bowes also contributed a quickfire 51 off 50 balls, but the rest of the Kiwi batsmen struggled to make an impact against a disciplined Pakistan bowling attack.
Haris Rauf was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers, taking 4/78 in his 10 overs. He dismissed both openers and returned to break the Mitchell-Latham partnership when it was threatening to take the game away from Pakistan. Naseem Shah also chipped in with a couple of wickets, while the spin duo of Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim kept things tight in the middle overs.
Overall, it was a comprehensive win for Pakistan, who showed their batting firepower and depth to chase down a big target with ease. The win also continued their impressive run of form in home ODI series, as they have now won 11 consecutive bilateral series at home. For New Zealand, it was a disappointing result after they had won the T20I series against Pakistan 2-1. They will need to regroup quickly and find a way to counter the Pakistan batsmen in the remaining ODIs of the series.
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