New Zealand, already a great team, somehow lost the semi-final of a competition. Over the past two decades, the Kiwis have made it a habit to go ashore and sink their boats. But that regret has faded a bit this time.
New Zealand defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the final of the tri-nation series in Karachi on Friday. They won all three matches in the series. Chasing a target of 243 runs set by Pakistan, the Kiwis chased it down with 28 balls and five wickets in hand. This was the first time New Zealand had won a white-ball multi-nation tournament since 2005.
New Zealand suffered an early setback on a bowling-friendly wicket in Karachi. Will Young was dismissed for 5 runs. There could have been more trouble, as Kane Williamson and Devon Conway struggled to cope with the Pakistani pacers early in the innings.
However, as time passed, Williamson and Conway got set. The two batsmen put themselves in the driver's seat with a 71-run partnership. Williamson was bowled by Salman Agar for 34 runs. And Devon Conway returned for the team's 108 runs. He scored 48 runs with 5 fours.
Pakistan had a chance to dismiss Tom Latham soon after Conway's dismissal. However, Rizwan had to settle for a decision without reviewing the umpire's decision. Latham put on an 87-run stand with Darrell Mitchell for the fourth wicket to put Pakistan out of the match.
Mitchell was dismissed for a personal 57, 48 runs away from victory. Latham was dismissed for a 64-ball 56, taking the team very close to victory. In the end, Glenn Phillips remained unbeaten on 20 to lead the team to victory.
Earlier, Pakistan did not start well after winning the toss and opting to bat first. Inform opener Fakhar Zaman returned with 10 runs off 15 balls. Saud Shakeel also failed to score a run. However, Babar Azam was moving at a good pace at the other end. He returned with 29 runs off 34 balls, leaving Pakistan with 3 wickets for 54 runs.
Rizwan was cautious in batting to handle the initial shock. He played 13 balls to reach the first run, Salman also started slowly. The two stars who won Pakistan by tying the match record partnership later returned with fluent pace. The two added 88 runs for the fourth wicket. After Rizwan returned with 46 runs off 76 balls, Salman did not last long either (45 off 65 balls).
In the end, thanks to Taib Tahir's 38 off 33 balls and Faheem Ashraf's 22 off 21 balls, Pakistan's runs approached 250. However, it was not enough to win. New Zealand easily won the trophy, the team that won its fifth victory in the 13th white-ball final played in the 21st century, its first in 20 years.
