World Cup 2019: Pakistan vs New Zealand Match Report
World Cup 2019: Pakistan vs New Zealand: Sensational Babar Azam keeps Pakistan alive in the tournament.
PAKISTAN VS NEW ZEALAND SCORECARD
Pakistan: 241-4 in 49.1 overs | Won by 6 wickets
Babar Azam: 101(127) | Haris Sohail: 68(76) | Kane Williamson: 1-39
New Zealand: 237-6 in 50 overs
James Neesham: 97(112) | Colin de Grandhomme: 64(71) | Shaheen Afridi: 3-28
Player of the Match: Babar Azam
MATCH SUMMARY:
Pakistan vs New Zealand: Babar Azam scores an unbeaten century as Pakistan beat New Zealand by 6 wickets to stay alive in World Cup 2019.
It has been an inspirational comeback for the Pakistan team after being mauled by the Indian team. They now have 7 points from 7 games with two games left against Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, batting first, New Zealand’s openers’ horrible run continued once again as Guptill and Munro departed early.
New Zealand’s best batsmen, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor too didn’t have a good outing as they fell for 41(69) and 3(8) respectively.
With New Zealand reeling at 83-5, New Zealand’s all-rounders, James Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme produced one of the best partnerships for the sixth wicket as the duo added 132 runs.
James Neesham made a scintillating 97*(112), while Colin de Grandhomme made a superb 64(71) as New Zealand scripted a super come back to score 237-6 in 50 overs.
For Pakistan, Shaheen Afridi bowled an amazing spell of 3-28 in 10 overs, while he received good support from the spinners.
THE CHASE:
Pakistan needed their best batsman, Babar Azam to just stay till the end if they had to win this. Babar Azam did exactly that as he scored an unbeaten century to help Pakistan win the match by 6 wickets.
At one stage, Pakistan were struggling at 110-3 as Williamson and Santner were in of an amazing spell of spin bowling. However, Babar Azam and Haris Sohail neglected the spin perfectly as they stitched a wonderful partnership of 126.
Haris Sohal deserves a special mention for his wonderful performance. After a blazing knock of 89(59) against South Africa, he played a completely contrasting knock 0f 68(76) to help Pakistan win yet another crucial encounter.
So, with this win, Pakistan inch a step closer to the semi-final spot as England’s hope diminishes further.
WHAT WENT WRONG FOR NEW ZEALAND?
- Openers failed once again for New Zealand.
- Lack of a wicket-taking spinner in the middle overs.
- Surprisingly the pitch assisted spinners, hence, Ish Sodhi’s addition would have been handy.
NEXT MATCH:
Match 34: INDIA VS WEST INDIES
Place: Manchester
Date: June 27, 2019
Time: 3 pm IST
India look to inch a step closer to the semi-final spot as West Indies face a must-win situation.
ALSO READ: World Cup 2019: Semi-final qualification scenarios for all the teams
Adesh Kothari is the founder of AK4Tsay1 Cricalytics.
Cricket to him is like what ‘Football is to Lionel Messi’, ‘Singing is to Lata Mangeshkar’, ‘Dancing is to Michael Jackson’, and what ‘Acting is to Clint Eastwood’.
Besides his effervescent love for Cricket, Adesh is an MBA by qualification.
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