Chapman & Smith Propel New Zealand Past Pakistan by 73 Runs in Opening ODI
Napier [ New Zealand On March 29 (ANI): The left-handed batsman Mark Chapman in this century and right-handed seam bowler Nathan Smith 's performance with four wickets led the hosts New Zealand to victory over Pakistan In the initial One Day International of the three-game series held at McLean Park in Napier on Saturday.
Chapman (132 runs from 111 deliveries) received the Player of the Match accolade for his outstanding performance during the game. This win allows New Zealand to claim a 1-0 advantage in the series, with the subsequent fixture scheduled for Wednesday in Hamilton and the final encounter set for Saturday in Mount Maunganui.
Pursuing an imposing target of 345 runs, the visiting team, known as the Men in Green, began their chase strongly with an impressive start from their opening pair. Openers Abdullah Shafique (scoring 36 runs off 49 deliveries) and Usman Khan (accumulating 39 runs in just 33 balls) set a promising pace for their side. The duo formed a remarkable stand worth 83 runs before Usman departed during the 13th over of the match.
Babar Azam (78 runs from 83 deliveries) and Salman Agha (58 runs off 48 deliveries) contributed vital points for his team; however, these efforts proved insufficient as the side captained by Mohammad Rizwan was all out for 244 runs during the 45th over.
The choice among the bowlers for New Zealand was Nathan Smith In his 8.1-over spell, he took four wickets while conceding 60 runs. Jacob Duffy claimed two wickets in nine overs, allowing 57 runs. William O'Rourke secured one wicket in 10 overs for 38 runs, Michael Bracewell picked up one wicket in 10 overs with a concession of 60 runs, and Muhammad Abbas got one wicket in seven overs at the cost of 43 runs during their bowling efforts.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan Skipper Mohammed Rizwan won the coin toss and chose to field first.
Leading the batting effort, Michael Bracewell’s team set an impressive target of 344 runs after losing nine wickets in their allotted fifty overs. Besides Chapman, key contributions came from Dary Mitchell, who scored 76 runs in 84 deliveries, and Muhammad Abbas, who notched up 52 runs off just 26 balls.
For Pakistan , three wickets were claimed by him Irfan Khan In just 5 overs with three wickets down, Haris Rauf secured two dismissals (2/38 in 10 overs). Similarly, Akif Javed also took two wickets (2/55 in 10 overs), while Nassem Shah and Mohammad Ali claimed one dismissal each; Nassem Shah dismissed one batsman for 60 runs in his ten-over spell (1/60 in 10 overs), followed by Mohammad Ali taking another at 53 runs over the same duration (1/53 in 10 overs).
Brief Score: New Zealand 344 runs for 9 wickets in 50 overs Mark Chapman 132, Daryl Mitchell 76, Irfan Khan 3/51) vs Pakistan 271 runs scored in 44.1 overs Babar Azam 78, Salman Agha 58, Nathan Smith 4/60). (ANI)