That’s it from Ptv Sports’ coverage of the ODI Series. We hope you enjoyed our watch throughout the ODI series. Don’t forget to join us again on Thursday when these two sides will be back in action in Pakistan for the ODI.
Right. That will be that from us for tonight. Pakistan have now taken an unassailable lead in this series but as Babar said, they want to use these next two games to put in two more strong displays. Do join us when these teams convene again on Friday but until next time, this is me (Shashwat) signing off on behalf of Rvel, Sudeep and everyone at ESPNcricinfo! Goodbye, goodnight and take care!
Imam-ul-Haq, Player of the Match:Â (On his partnership with Fakhar) When you play for the last six years with the same opener, it helps. We knew these wickets would not be the same as Rawalpindi wickets, so it was important to give respect. We knew it was a 280-290 track. We are planning and so far, it has been very good for us (Fakhar and me).
Me and Babar were talking about getting a good partnership. If we got out, it would be difficult for the middle order. We were thinking of 260 but it helped to get to a good position after 40 overs.
Babar Azam, Pakistan captain: The pitch was a little slow but the partnership that Imam and I built. Then, the way Rizwan played and the way Shadab finished – it got us up to 280. The bowlers were also outstanding. Shadab and Nawaz started well but unfortunately, Nawaz got hit. Agha bowled nine overs and that was outstanding. In ODIs, we are trying to chase 350 and trying to defend 300 as well.
That is what we are trying to do day by day. Focus is now to not relax and come out strongly for the next two matches. (On bench strength) We tried to do it in the second game and we tried communicating that. We did that in T20Is as well and hopefully, we can do that moving forward, with back-to-back series. Hopefully, we can continue to give our 100%.
Tom Latham, New Zealand captain:Â It (the pitch) probably slowed up a little bit. Just a couple of partnerships here and there, and things could have been a little different. We struggled a touch in the middle. At the half-way mark, we were happy and the bowlers certainly improved after the first two games. From a batting point of view, we had a really good start.
We just could not continue that momentum after we lost a couple of wickets. When you are chasing scores like that, you need back-to-back partnerships. We were not quite at our best (from a batting point of view) today.
11:26pm That turned into a fairly comfortable victory for Pakistan in the end. That, though, did not seem to be the case when New Zealand’s openers were going strong. Once Young fell, courtesy of some brilliant Pakistan fielding, the hosts established a foothold. Their spinners tightened the screws and it built pressure on the Kiwis.
That pressure told as Blundell ran himself out and Mitchell perished trying to clear the fence. Latham tried his best to take the game deep but without much support from his middle order, departed in the 42nd over. McConchie, on debut, notched up a fifty and played a few attractive strokes. The Black Caps, however, were well behind in the game by then.
Pakistan, meanwhile, would be pleased with how they bowled. They were not very effective in the powerplay but stuck to their lines and lengths in the middle phases. The wickets were shared and whenever New Zealand tried to up the ante, Pakistan held their nerve.
Thanks for joining us, peeps. It’s time for me, Rvel Zahid, to say goodbye on behalf of Momin Butt and our scoring master Sudeep Poojar. Join us on May 3 for the next match in Karachi!
Babar Azam: “As a captain, I am satisfied as everyone is stepping up and responding. The main thing is to read the situation and keep the run rate in check. Fakhar built the innings well and we were trying to maintain seven an over. I think it was Fakhar’s best innings and the way he played astonished me.
You can say, we conceded 20 to 30 extra runs but after the first innings we had a discussion and told each other that we have chased down similar totals in the past and we can do it again so it’s all about self-belief.”
Tom Latham: Daryl played a fantastic innings. Halfway mark we were pretty happy. Credit to Fakhar, he played an outstanding knock. They were able to build partnership after partnership. Big tick in the batting department. Have done that well in the last couple of games. Wickets here tend to be flat…we have to create more chances in the middle phases.
Fakhar Zaman, Player of the Match: “I try to take my time in the start in ODI cricket, and then with five players in the circle it becomes easier to score. Practice is usually done on technique and I work on my shortcomings as well but to be honest, I think it was my lucky day to score again against New Zealand.
I get a lot of liberty while playing with Rizwan and he made things easier for me. I was told to stay at the crease till the end and this approach is what is working in our team’s favour”
So once again Fakhar Zaman made things look ridiculously easy and turned on beast mode, scoring fluently and didn’t look flustered at any stage of the chase. Pakistan have played bold cricket and deserved to win tonight. New Zealand’s bowling attack just couldn’t make any inroads.
Perhaps a quick succession of wickets could have made things difficult for Pakistan but they couldn’t crack the code to get through Fakhar’s defence yet again and despite getting a par-score, they end up on the losing side.
Salman: “Seriously, I was about to go to bed and saw that my dad was watching television and fakhar was in his 90’s. Now my dad is asleep now and I am still watching.. RIP my sleep”
Muhammad Ali: “there was a time when Pakistan can’t find openers for years and now Pakistan is chasing 337 with 5 openers.”
Shahid: “Sadly none of the youngesters has yet done justice to the promised talent. Abdullah and Saim are far from finished products. A bit disappointed on Abdullah as he has been with team for 3 years now. I would love to see Saud Shakeel in the ODI team.
Waqas : “Iftikhar Ahmed can solve problem of middle order and he also does bowl. He must be part of ODI also but permanently “
Until the next one, this is Rvel Zahid waving goodbye on behalf of Shashwat Kumar and our scoring gurus Binoy George and Chandan Duorah. Adios!
Babar Azam: This was a team effort, we wanted to start well. The credit belongs to the fast bowlers for the way we restricted them in the end. It feels good to see players execute their plans. The way Naseem bowled put pressure on them and then the spinners dominated. The way Fakhar and Imam played, then the innings Fakhar and I built together was great.
Tom Latham:Â I think the score we got was about par. The position we were in, Daryl played a superb innings. The wicket got harder for new guys, but the way Pakistan played was superb. We couldn’t make any inroads. It got harder in the end but the two partnerships up top from Pakistan made the difference. I guess a few more wickets could have made it different because it wasn’t easy to start.
Fakhar Zaman, Player of the Match:Â The plan was to attack and stay long. If you survive the new ball at (Rawalpindi) you must stay (till the end). It’s a very good start, the first three needs to go till 40 overs. Today was my day and hopefully, Imam and Babar will also play big knocks.
Rizwan looks to the heavens with that shot of authority over midwicket as Pakistan draws first blood in the five-match ODI series and this is also Pakistan’s 500th ODI win! Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman forged a crucial partnership that set the platform for Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.
Pakistan did make it difficult for themselves by slowing down in the middle overs and even without some of the mainstays, New Zealand did pretty well and should give themselves a pat on the back for their bowling performance as they created some panic towards the end and took the game deep.
The pitch had been baking under the sun and was pretty docile. There was barely any swing for the bowlers but spinners got some assistance. Pakistan have got a few ODIs before the showpiece event to address the outstanding issues; the chase got derailed when Babar Azam nicked one through to the keeper and the floodgates were opened.
Shan Masood played a confusing knock and struggled to get going which raises questions on his role in the team. In the end, Mohammad Rizwan made sure they don’t make a mess of the game and some timely blows took all hope away from the Tom Latham-led side.
sam: “I think I can breathe without choking on incoming breaths now? God the past few minutes have been bad for my asthma..”
Tom Latham:Â One of the best innings a lot of us have ever seen, hats off to Chapman. They [Neesham and Chapman] just worked out their partnership really well and kept piling the pressure back on the opponents. We spoke about how we want to improve from game to game.
The prep for us wasn’t ideal coming in but it’s mightily satisfying that we ended with a series draw after being two-nil down. Unfortunately, Chapman is heading home [on being asked if Chapman is staying for the ODIs]. It’s going to be a challenging ODI series and we are looking forward to the new challenge.
Babar Azam:Â I think we were 10-15 runs short after Rizwan revived the innings for us through the middle phases. The way Iftikhar performed in the batting department has been a major boost for us. Same goes for Imad how he carried his form from the PSL and chipped in with both bat and ball, it’s been really helpful.
We have a lot of positives from the series, especially how the young guns have come out and expressed. We have also understood the areas where we are lacking and we will try to improve. Special knock this from Chapman, congratulations to him. We will look to switch on for the ODIs and give our best there.
Mark Chapman is, expectedly, the player of the match as well as the series. 290 runs for him in five innings at a strike-rate of 165.7.
Mark Chapman:Â We are very happy with how we levelled the series tonight and finished the job. It took a bit of adjusting in the first two games and it’s great to see that it worked out well. I was pretty thankful that Jimmy Neesham came out all-guns-blazing and took some pressure off me as well.
Presentations coming up, stick around folks
Elky: “It’s times like this when insomnia ain’t so bad. Phenomenal work from Chapman with Neeshy in the wings.”
Mohyuddin: “Defending anything below 220 on pindi pitch is difficult ask for any bowling side. Batters should be blamed by not providing decent total to bowlers.
Sathish Pichika: “Chapman tops the list of most runs scored in a T20 bilateral series! 290 (average 290) in 5 innings next is Leslie Dunbar (SER) 284 in 4 innings in Bulgaria 2022.”
12.42pm:Â A run-chase of two halves, if that’s one way to put it. New Zealand were dealt a couple of early blows when Shaheen struck twice in the first over to put them on the back-foot straightaway. They couldn’t fully exploit the field restrictions and looked down for the count at 3/33 at the end of the powerplay.
Chapman came in at No. 5 and began to inject impetus into the innings with Mitchell. The latter couldn’t hang around for long, leaving New Zealand with 121 runs to get off the last 10. Neesham and Chapman then got together to string together a counterattacking stand as they took down both pacers and spinners.
They brought the asking rate down from nearly 13 an over to under 10 and kept chipping away. Chapman was handed a second life by Shadab which proved to be a turning point as he soon after brought up a magnificent century, a contender for the all-time great innings from a New Zealander in T20Is. Neesham, too, played his part with a blistering 45* (25) as the tourists crossed the line and levelled the series.
Sunair: “For me, Faheem’s first over where he gave away 14 was the turning point. Pakistan was in control before that. Should have brought a front liner to take wicket at that time and kill the game”
Andye: “Sensational batting from chapman! Picked apart pak’s best bowlers with elegance. A must have for the ODI series!”
Faizan Ahmed : “This is all-time best partnership in T20I for the fifth wicket. Broke the record of Misbah-Malik stand back in 2007.”
New Zealand have their work cut out here for the middle phases with the asking rate touching 11.5. Here’s Shadab
Khalid Kundi: “I hope Babar will utilize the full quota of Imad. Sometimes his overs are eaten away and the replacement bowler ends up giving away too much.”
That’s it from ESPNcricinfo’s coverage of the fourth T20I. We hope you enjoyed our watch. Don’t forget to join us again on Monday when these two sides will be back in action at Rawalpindi for the fifth and final T20. Until then, it’s goodnight from Momin and the team and a very happy Eid to everyone celebrating. Adios!
11.15pm:Â It was enterprising while it lasted. New Zealand got off to a flyer courtesy a flurry of boundaries in the first couple of overs. Pakistan turned to Imad early in the piece and he delivered the goods, plucking out two wickets inside the powerplay. Despite back-to-back wickets, New Zealand notched up 50 runs in the first six overs. Imad struck for the third time to peg back the visitors and was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts.
Chapman and Bowes, however, then combined to string together a handy 54-run stand with the latter bringing up a wonderful maiden fifty in the format. He was dismissed by Shaheen in the 14th over before Chapman stole the limelight and took down the Pakistan bowlers. New Zealand looked set for a total in the vicinity of 180 with Chapman unbeaten on 71* before rain and a whole lot of hail intervened which meant the play had to be called off prematurely.
11.05pm: Right, we have news and it’s not a good one. The match officials have re-evaluated the conditions and they have called the game off. Television visuals from the ground suggest that massive puddles have formed on the outfield and further play won’t be possible, unfortunately.
Anish: “Nepal needing 11 wins out of 12 to qualify for the ICC CWC Qualifiers in Zimbabwe and Nepal did exactly the same winning 11 out of 12 ODIs. That was huge atleast for Nepali fans.”
Cowan: “Can’t forget the 2 test matches roughly 2 weeks apart when NZ beat England by 1 run and Sri Lanka by 2 wickets on the final ball of the match”
Not something we see on a cricketing day quite often:
Abhi: “Moment of the year for me was when the Aussies won the women’s world cup to continue their dominance/ The overall success of the inaugural SA20”
TJ: “Adam Zampa’s maiden mankad in the BBL. Greatest moment so far for me.” Ah, didn’t quite go Adam’s way
Hafiz Sajid Ali: “The moment when Ish Sodhi hit 6 on the last delivery to get his team to play super over against Sri Lanka… You remember the moment or not?”
Noman: “Afghanistan winning series against Pakistan has to be the moment of the year. What a moment of joy for the Afghan people back home.”
hsan: “We had a Rinku moment this year.” That really was quite something, wasn’t it?
M Ahmad : “The PSL 2023 final was a bloody good day for franchise cricket.” It sure was
Paras: “It’s the same western disturbance that’s across Northwest India and Pakistan that has affected both IPL match and this match.”
10.40pm:Â While we wait for the rain (hail?) to halt, let’s discuss some cricketing moments of 2023 so far, shall we? For me, the South African women’s side qualifying for a home final is right up there.
Junaid: “I think it’s over, it’s hailing cats and dogs in Pindi.” We have our fingers crossed for an eventual resumption, Junaid
Omar Shah: “Rain stopped here in my area near Rawalpindi, I hope it stops in the stadium as well. “
Hayyan: “Could have kept the matches in Karachi, no chance of rain here whatsoever for a month.”
10.25pm:Â Geez, it’s turned into a proper hailstorm now. The Pindi outfield has turned totally white in a matter of moments. The ground staff, too, are ducking for cover.
And we are going off as the rain has gotten much heavier now. Boos from the crowd but it’s really pouring down at the moment. Here’s to hoping it’s just a passing shower.
That’s it from ESPNcricinfo’s coverage of the third T20I. We hope you enjoyed our watch. Don’t forget to join us again o
n Thursday when these two sides will be back in action at Rawalpindi. Until then, it’s goodbye and goodnight from Momin and the rest of the crew.
Tom Latham:Â It was a great game of cricket. We were pleased to get a competitive total on the board and it’s satisfying to get across the line and keep the series alive. I think the whole squad will take a lot of confidence from this match moving forward. What set up the win for us was the three early wickets in the powerplay that I thought pegged them back slightly.
Sodhi and Ravindra were superb for us through the middle phases. It was very nice to contribute at the top of the order [on his 64 off 49] and make full use of the powerplay. We pride ourselves on our fielding and keep the bar high everytime we set foot into the middle.
Tom Latham has been awarded the Player of the Match award
Babar Azam:Â I think we didn’t bat well enough tonight. We kept losing wicket at crucial stages because of which the pressure kept building throughout the run-chase. We have kept our batting order flexible [on Iftikhar’s demotion tonight]. Iftikhar delivered tonight and Faheem also chipped in with crucial runs. Our bowlers have been superb throughout this series, so far, and they have executed most of the plans.
Presentations coming up, stick around
Tautoru: “Finally NZ wins v Pakistan. That’s rare because Pakistan are so good v NZ. Great game, hard fought by both. “
Bob: “Kiwi fan here. Stunning innings from Iftikhar, should be player of the match. Can’t fathom why he wasn’t batting higher. Very relieved it didn’t go to a super over”
Kalpesh : “These are kind of the games till you don’t know the result till the last ball country does not matter.”
12.55pm: Woof, what an enthralling finish we have had to the match with New Zealand squeezing past Pakistan by a bare margin. Much like their opposition, Pakistan commenced their innings sluggishly. Both Babar and Rizwan were dismissed inside the powerplay and Fakhar and Saim couldn’t hang around for long either. Pakistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals throughout the middle overs and looked down for the count at 92/7 after 15 overs.
Iftikhar and Faheem then stringed together a brilliant 61-run partnership as they took down the likes of Milne and Neesham to keep them in the game. Iftikhar struck a blistering 24-ball 60 but his herculean effort couldn’t carry Pakistan across the line as they fell agonizingly short by 4 runs. Neesham did well to cover up for the injured Lister and to keep Iftikhar at bay in the last over while the spin-bowling duo of Ravindra and Sodhi as well as Milne also chipped in with crucial wickets.
Amir Ali: “Shaheen giving those 5 extra runs and Naseem Shah swinging for 3 balls for nothing where all was just required to tak single and give strike to Iftikhar proved costly, but a well fought match nonetheless.”
Anwar: “Brilliant game, but New Zealand the worthy winners. Pakistan didn’t deserve to win after leaving their best batsman Iftikhar at the bottom”
Rashid : “Well played iftikhar. Nz were strong to win this until iffy masterclass inning. Congrats to kiwis they put up good show tonight “
New Zealand put up a much better performance tonight and brought down the defeat margin to 38 runs from 88 runs last night. Mark Chapman played some delightful shots in his 65-run knock and took on the likes of Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan. Tom Latham couldn’t push on after making 19 and Bowes slowed down after the powerplay as the spinners put the squeeze on and made the equation tough for the tourists. Haris Rauf was once again magnificent and picked up back-to-back four-wicket hauls. Earlier, Babar Azam played a gem of an innings and notched up his third T20I hundred in sensational style and sent Lahore crowd into raptures. Until next time, this is Rvel Zahid signing off. Cheers!
Babar Azam: “Definitely, I am very happy to perform in this match. Early on, there was help for the fast bowlers and there was seam movement but I and Rizwan built a partnership, and after Rizwan got out then I and Iftikhar continued to consolidate. I try to stay till the end and play all overs and utilized the last few overs and we managed to get a good total. Back-to-back wickets hurt you but we are working on this and we will sit and discuss about it because back-to-back wickets put pressure on you. Our bowling line-up is excellent, we have got experienced bowlers and some exciting young bowlers, Zaman is brilliant at death. Rizwan is feeling better, perhaps a one-game rest for him and he will be back in the side.”
Tom Latham: “We have been there or thereabouts but we weren’t able to finish the innings off, both with the ball and bat. When Babar plays like that, you tip your hat off. The bowlers are trying hard and we are not that far away. If we can put the pieces together then we have a good chance. We were a lot better than last night. You need to get off to a quick start while chasing 190 and we weren’t able to do that today. It is a game of fine margins and can be fickle, we will take the learnings from the last two nights and come back stronger on Monday.”
Prashan: “Tremendous improvement by NZ from last night.”
RajithGoyal: “Pakistan should go with the youngsters and rest the seniors for the remaining matches. This series with Pakistan all-time greats vs Newzealand Z team does not make much sense”
Salman Farooq: “Ihsanullah should replace Faheem Ashraf. This Pakistan bowling attack will be lethal.”
Faisal Jaan: “This Pakistani team has an outlook of a WC-winning squad, with superstars like Babar, Shaheen, Haris Rauf, Rizwan, Fakhar, and Shadab in their ranks”
Manthan Jain: “Shouldn’t Pak have retained the last series squad? But more importantly, shouldn’t NZ may have got their A team here.”
Manthan Jain: “Mark Chapman can replace Williamson for WC.”
SalmanFarooqi: “Haris Rauf has now 80 T20I wickets. The most by any bowler, since his debut in January 2020. Amazing success!”