New Zealand claimed an impressive 84-run victory against Pakistan in the second ODI at Seddon Park on Wednesday, with an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Mitchell Hay scored a fantastic unbeaten 99 runs, helping New Zealand score a strong total of 292/8 in their 50 overs.
Pakistan lost early wickets to aggressive pace bowling, and were dismissed for 208 runs, well short of New Zealand's total. Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first, but Malaysi's decision to bat first backfired quickly. New Zealand's openers Rhys Mariu and Nick Kelly gave the hosts a hard-hitting start, taking New Zealand past 50 runs in the first six overs.
Rauf struck in the seventh over, catching Kelly out, and then Babar Azam caught Mariu sharply again, reducing New Zealand to 97/2. Muqeem continued to turn the momentum in Pakistan's favor with a quick dismissal of Daryl Mitchell and Henry Nicholls, leaving New Zealand at 135/4. Just as Pakistan seemed in control. Mitchell Hay and Muhammad Abbas combined in a 77 run partnership.
In his first ODI game, Abbas played a steady innings of 20 runs from 52 balls, letting Hay go after him in the later overs. When Abbas was dismissed, Hay went on the attack, accumulating 49 runs, hitting Mohammad Wasim Jr. for the next three overs to obtain New Zealand a strong total. Muqeem was Pakistan's most economical bowler, taking 2/33 in 10 overs, while Wasim Jr. was expensive in spite of taking two wickets, giving away 78 runs in his 10 overs.
Pakistan's Batting Fails Under Pace Attack Chasing 293, the top order of the Pakistan batting collapsed in the early going due to a motivated spell from New Zealand fast bowlers. Jacob Duffy and Will O'Rourke struck in the first six overs dismissing Abdullah Shafique (1), Babar Azam (1), and Imam-ul-Haq (3) to drop Pakistan to a horrible 9/3 at the beginning of the innings. The carnage continued when Ben Sears dismissed Rizwan (5) and Salman Ali Agha (9) cheaply leaving the visitors at 32/5 after 12 overs.
To add to the woes of Pakistan, Haris Rauf had to retire hurt after taking a blow to a rising delivery from O'Rourke. His concussion replacement, Naseem Shah, offered fleeting resistance by scoring his first half-century in an ODI, with 51 off 44 balls, as part of a 60-run stand for the ninth wicket with Faheem Ashraf, who he scored 73 from 80. After Ashraf, Sears finally claimed his wicket, prematurely ending the innings by trapping Naseem in front whilst he was intent on playing a big shot, concluding the innings at 208 all out in 41.2 overs. New Zealand's seamers were relentless in their approach to the Pakistan innings, led by Sears who collected figures of 5/59, with Duffy (3/35) and O'Rourke (1/19) offering crucial support, all while never allowing Pakistan back into the contest.
Summary of the match:
New Zealand – 292/8 in 50 overs (Mitchell Hay 99*, Muhammad Abbas 41; Sufiyan Muqeem 2/33, Mohammad Wasim 2/78)
Pakistan – 208 all out in 41.2 overs (Faheem Ashraf 73, Naseem Shah 51; Ben Sears 5/59, Jacob Duffy 3/35)
Thus, New Zealand sealed a 2-0 series lead, exerting their dominance through every facet of the match.
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