Pakistan top-order batters continued to prosper as they beat under-strength New Zealand by 26 runs in the third one-day international for an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
Opening batter Imam-ul-Haq made 90 off 107 balls and captain Babar Azam scored 54 as the home team raised a total of 287-6 after losing the toss and being asked to bat first. Cole McConchie’s (64 not out) late counter-attack saw the 31-year-old smash New Zealand’s fastest half-century on ODI debut off 36 balls before the Kiwis were bowled out for 261 in the final over to lose their first ODI series against Pakistan since 2011. “We knew these wickets would not be the same as Rawalpindi wickets, so it was important to give respect,” Imam said after being named player of the match. “We knew it was a 280-290 track. We were thinking of 260 but my partnership with Babar helped to get to a good position.”
Pakistan chased down two big totals in the first two ODIs at Rawalpindi, including its second highest-ever successful chase in an ODI of 337 runs in the second game. New Zealand made a solid start in a bid to keep the series alive when Tom Blundell (65), playing his first game of the series, and Will Young (33) put on 83 runs for the opening-wicket stand. But Young’s run-out in the 16th over saw the middle-order stifled by Pakistan spinners Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz before Blundell too got run out while going for a second run with captain Tom Latham.
Daryl Mitchell, who scored centuries in the first two games, had two lucky escapes before he holed out in the deep after scoring 21 and Mark Chapman, who was the star for New Zealand in the preceding 2-2 drawn T20 series against Pakistan, was clean bowled by Naseem Shah for 13. Source: AP