Fakhar 117, Imam fifty take Pakistan 1-0 up against New Zealand

Pakistan 291 for 5 (Fakhar 117, Imam 60, Babar 49, Rizwan 42*, Milne 2-60) beat New Zealand 288 for 7 (Mitchell 113, Young 86, Naseem 2-29) by five wickets

The chase was a realisation of the template Pakistan have followed on their best days in this format over the past four years. The bulk of the run-scoring was done by Fakhar, Imam and Babar; there is a reason, after all, no other side has relied as much as Pakistan on their top three for runs. While New Zealand’s openers had begun sedately, Pakistan started briskly on a surface that posed little danger to the batters.

Adam Milne and Matt Henry were milked and picked off for the occasional boundary, but once the 100 partnership came up in the 19th over, they displayed more obvious truculence. Fakhar pumped Mitchell for a six back over his head while Imam did the same to Ish Sodhi soon after. Both men had brought up half-centuries by now, and Pakistan appeared on track.

Sodhi struck the next ball after finding some grip and trapping Imam in front, but only paved the way for another long partnership, this time between Babar and Fakhar. It looked as if those two would take the game right through to the end. The Pakistan captain looked at home since ball one, while Fakhar was moving inexorably towards yet another ODI hundred. When he did get there with a drive through extra cover he punched the air before the customary sajda.

But a loose shot from Babar one away from 50 brought Shan Masood to the crease. He was soon on his way back after a bit of a struggle, lapping the 12th ball to extra cover having added just one run, and New Zealand had the tiniest of openings once more.

But Rizwan would shut it down with aplomb, looking to take the jeopardy out of the game by counterattacking. This he did with considerable success, and even as Fakhar fell for 117 at the other end, he ensured there was little reason for the home side to get wobbly. A smear over midwicket in the penultimate over sealed the deal, giving Pakistan the win they looked good value for through much of the game.

Earlier, Pakistan had opted to put New Zealand in to bat on a hot day and a flat track. The bowlers started off keeping the openers on a leash, particularly Naseem, who found sideways movement and an extra yard of pace, allowing just 12 runs in his six-over spell. It was a bowling change, though, that brought the wicket, with Haris Rauf drawing the outside edge from Chad Bowes in his first over, capping a powerplay that belonged to the bowlers.

But as the field spread out, New Zealand began to grow into the innings. Young began to find his feet, especially against the spin. After a 51-ball 50, he swept Shadab for four and Agha Salman’s first delivery for a six. Pakistan continued to plug away with spin to little effect, with Mitchell soon beginning to play a useful support act. Young looked to be heading for a breezy hundred as the partnership crossed three figures and New Zealand sat pretty at 150 for one in a shade over 26 overs.

But Shadab struck as Young holed out in pursuit of another boundary, and though Mitchell was only getting more comfortable, New Zealand could never quite assert themselves in the same way again. Tom Latham’s struggle at the crease – he managed 20 off 36 before falling lbw to a juicy full toss – sapped momentum. Mitchell smacked a pair of boundaries off Shadab and another four and six off Nawaz, but he was getting little support.

The last 25 overs of the innings produced just three boundaries that Mitchell did not hit, and once Mark Chapman was cleaned up by Rauf, the innings never really went anywhere. Mitchell brought up a well-deserved hundred with a majestic straight drive off Shaheen Afridi, but with the miserly Naseem at the other end, New Zealand’s run-scoring was becoming more and more impecunious.

Naseem would get the rewards he deserved so richly in the wickets column right at the death, dismissing Rachin Ravindra and Adam Milne off the final two deliveries of the innings, ensuring New Zealand ended well short of 300. As it turned out, they also fell well of a total to challenge Pakistan’s batters on a surface like this.