KARACHI: Pakistan captain Babar Azam notched up his 18th century and powered Pakistan to thrash New Zealand by a massive margin of 102 runs in the fourth PAK vs NZ ODI of the five-match series here on Friday.
With their dominant 102-run victory over hapless New Zealand, Pakistan claimed the top spot in the ODI Team Rankings for the first time in history.
Set to chase a mammoth 335, New Zealand’s batting lineup crumbled and bundled out for a meagre 232 in the 43rd over despite their skipper Tom Latham’s 60 and thus handed a massive 102-run victory to the home side.
The touring side had a cautious start to the run chase as their openers Will Young (15) and Tom Blundell raised 36 runs for the first wicket before the latter fell victim to Mohammad Wasim Jr in the eighth over.
New Zealand then endured another setback in the form of Tom Blundell, who could score 23 off 29 before handing a simple catch to Iftikhar Ahmed off Haris Rauf in the ninth over.
Following the slump, New Zealand captain Latham and Daryl Mitchell looked to anchor the run chase as they stitched a vital 83-run partnership for the third wicket.
The duo appeared to have settled down and were eyeing to race up the run rate but Mitchell faltered against Usama Mir and walked back after managing to score 34 off 48 and hit a boundary.
Latham was then involved in yet another crucial partnership for New Zealand as he, alongside Mark Chapman, added 55 runs to the total amid their fourth-wicket stand.
Their stand was turning out to be a game changer as Chapman – the core aggressor – was taking the Pakistan bowlers to the cleaners before Latham faltered against Pakistan.
The New Zealand captain top-scored for his side with a 76-ball 60, which featured five boundaries.
New Zealand then succumbed to yet another massive blow when Usama castled the danger-man Chapman in the 36th over, who fell just four of his half-century.
He remained the notable run-getter for New Zealand with a brisk 46 off 33 deliveries, smashing four boundaries and three sixes.
Chapman’s dismissal triggered a match-defining collapse and New Zealand were soon bundled out in the 44th over.
Usama led the bowling attack for Pakistan with 4/43, followed by Wasim Jr’s 3/40, while Haris Rauf struck twice.
Put into bat first in the fourth PAK vs NZ ODI, the home side piled up a mammoth 334/6 in 50 overs at the back of a magnificent century-knock by their skipper Babar Azam.
Earlier, the home side got off to an unwanted start as they lost their in-form opener, Fakhar Zaman (14) with just 36 runs on the scoreboard.
Following Fakhar’s early dismissal, Pakistan captain Babar walked into the middle and joined set batter Shan Masood to anchor the innings.
The pair batted sensibly and put their side in command with the 50-run partnership until Ish Sodhi deceived Masood in the 17th over to draw a much-needed breakthrough for the touring side.
The left-handed batter scored 44 off 55 deliveries, hitting seven boundaries.
Babar then put on a brief partnership with his T20I opening partner Mohammad Rizwan – promoted to bat at No. 4 – before a direct hit from Matt Henry marked the end of the latter’s gritty 24-run knock.
Babar then stitched a vital fourth-wicket partnership with Salman Ali Agha and dominated New Zealand bowlers as the pair added 117 runs at a decent pace with the latter being the core aggressor of the stand.
Agha put the touring side under immense pressure by smashing four boundaries and two sixes amid his 58-run knock, which ended after Henry pulled a stunning catch off his own bowling.
Making his return to the ODI side after a year hiatus, Iftikhar Ahmed took some time to settle before taking the New Zealand bowlers to the cleaners amid his 41-run stand with Babar.
Pakistan skipper then made history by becoming the fastest to score an 18th ODI century amid his sixth-wicket stand with Iftikhar.
Meanwhile, Iftikhar, who was breathing fire, skied one off Henry in the 47th over before walking back to the pavilion after scoring 28 off just 22 deliveries, laced up with five boundaries.
Babar Azam’s stay at the crease remained brief after Iftikhar’s dismissal as he perished in the next over after top-scoring for his side.
He whacked 10 boundaries amid his magnificent knock of 107 in 117 deliveries.
Following Babar’s departure, unbeaten cameos from Mohammad Haris (17 off eight) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (23 off seven) made sure the hosts finished their innings on a high.
