ISLAMABAD: Inspired by a brilliant century by left-handed opening batter Fakhar Zaman, Pakistan won the first One Day International (ODI) against New Zealand on Thursday, beginning their preparations for this year's World Cup on a high note.
Batting first, the Black Caps were able to put up an impressive total on the scoreboard, with Daryl Mitchell producing a career-best knock of 113 runs from 115 balls while Wil Young scored a valuable 86 from 78 balls.
Pakistan were off to an impressive start in their innings, with openers Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq putting up a century stand. Haq headed for the pavilion after scoring 60 from 65 balls. Pakistan's all-format captain Babar Azam narrowly missed out on a half-century, scoring only 49 runs from 46 balls while Mohammad Rizwan remained unbeaten on 42 to see his team through to a convincing five-wicket victory.
However, it was Zaman who was the star of the show, smashing 117 runs off 114 balls, in an innings that featured 13 fours and a single six. Adam Milne was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers, finishing with figures of 2/60 from nine overs while Blair Tickler, Ish Sodhi and Rachin Ravindra picked up a wicket each. Pakistan finished at 291/5 with nine balls to spare.
Earlier, Pakistan's pace battery of Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf finished with figures of 2/29, 2/63 and 2/65.
In addition to this series and in the lead up to the World Cup, which will be held in October/November, Pakistan are also scheduled to play three ODIs against Afghanistan in August and September’s ACC Men’s Asia Cup.
Both Pakistan and New Zealand have qualified directly for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 after finishing in the top-eight of the 13-team ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League. New Zealand topped the Super League with 16 wins from 24 matches, while Pakistan finished fifth with 13 wins off 21 matches.