Kane Williamson’s preparation went well. The Kiwi skipper, who has not fully recovered from knee surgery, was batting only against Pakistan in the World Cup warm-up. After a long time, Williamson has scored 54 runs off 50 balls. New Zealand’s World Cup preparations have been excellent on Williamson’s return. The Kiwis chased the target of 346 runs set by Pakistan in Hyderabad with 38 balls and 5 wickets in hand.
Babar Azam won the toss and elected to bat at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad. They also proved that the decision was not wrong. Mohammad Rizwan’s century, captain Babar’s big innings, and Saud Shakeel’s astounding innings made Pakistan a big collection of 345 runs. However, due to the failure of the bowlers, Pakistan could not fight with this run. Shaheen Shah Afridi did not play on this day.
However, Pakistan has also prepared well using this match. Imam-ul Haque (1 off 10 balls) and Abdullah Shafiq (14 off 25 balls) did not get runs but Babar and Rizwan played big innings. Babar got out after playing an innings of 80 runs from 84 balls with 8 fours and two sixes, while Rizwan scored a century on Indian soil. He hit 103 runs off 94 balls, with 9 fours and 2 sixes, and Saud Shakeel Shakil scored 75 runs off 53 balls. He hit 5 fours and 4 sixes. Besides, Agha Salman was unbeaten at 33 runs of 23 balls with 3 fours and 1 six. Shadab Khan got out after scoring 16 runs off 11 balls. Finally, Iftikhar Ahmed was unbeaten at 7 runs. They also got 16 extra runs.
For New Zealand, Mitchell Santner claimed two wickets. Matt Henry, James Neesham, and Lockie Ferguson each claimed a wicket.
Devon Conway returned to the dressing room while batting in response to 346 runs. Hasan Ali returned him for zero runs. But on the other side, Rachin Ravindra created a storm. This opener played an innings of 97 runs from 72 balls before being dismissed by Agha Salman.
Williamson is still not fully recovered. New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said that Williamson will not be able to play in New Zealand’s first match in the World Cup. However, he was well-prepared as a batsman today. He got his fifty. Darryl Mitchell, who dropped to number 4, also got a fifty. He also voluntarily left the field after scoring 59 runs off 57 balls. After that, Mark Chapman scored 65 off 41 balls and Jimmy Neesham scored 33 runs off 21 balls to give a win to New Zealand. Besides, Captain Tom Latham scored 18 runs off 13 balls and Glenn Phillips made only 3 runs off 7 balls.
For Pakistan, Usama Mir took two wickets. Each of Hasan Ali, Agha Salman, and Wasim Jr. claimed a wicket.
Pakistan – 345/5 (50.0)
New Zealand – 346/5 (43.4)
Result – New Zealand won by 5 wickets
Babar Azam
New Zealand | Tom Latham (c & wk), Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Ish Sodhi, Glenn Phillips, Trent Boult, Kane Williamson, Matt Henry, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson |
Pakistan | Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Abdullah Shafique, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Usama Mir |
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