2nd ODI Review: Kane Williamson leads New Zealand to a 4 wicket victory in Sharjah Pakistan 252 (48.3 ov), New Zealand 255/6 (46.0 ov) - New Zealand won by 4 wickets (with 24 balls remaining) Second ODI of the series kicked off with Pakistan winning the toss and opting to bat first. Pakistan team remained same except for the unfit Gul who was replaced by Tanvir. New Zealand made few changes as Anderson, Henry and McClenaghan were brought in to replace Nathan Mccullum, James Neesham and Kyle Mills. Hafeez started things off against Henry and took a single straight away. Shehzad played four dots before edging on the last ball to keeper Ronchi as he went for 0 and Pakistan lost their first wicket at 1/1. Younis came on to bat at his favorite batting position no.3. McClenaghan came on to bowl the second over to Younis who was given out LBW on the first delivery he faced off McClenaghan but to his luck it was given a No-ball. Younis didnt make the most of his second life as after only 3 deliveries he edged one to Taylor at first slip for 6 runs. Score was 11/2 when Shafiq arrived at no.4, His stay at the crease was very brief as he played only 5 deliveries before being bowled for 1 run off Henrys bowling. Score was 20/3 when Haris Sohail joined Hafeez, with Pakistan in deep trouble after the loss of 3 early wickets. Hafeez looked positive with his approach and played shots comfortably all around the ground. He along with a very impressive Sohail contributed a solid 77 run stand for the 4th wicket after the top order collapse. Hafeez brought up his half century during that stand. Haris then threw his wicket away when he miscued a pull shot straight into the fielders hand on Andersons bowling. Haris went for a useful contribution of 33 and Pakistan score was 97/4 when Misbah arrived, The two carried the batting into 35th over with their 66 run stand where Misbah scored most runs. Hafeez was dismissed by Henry when he tried pulling one away at deep mid wicket fielder for 76. Score was 163/5, when Sarfraz Ahmed walked in and the powerplay started the very next over. Misbah pulled and knicked a short delivery straight in to the wicketkeepers gloves off Henrys bowling. He went for 47 runs and Shahid Afridi walked in next, Sarfraz continued to rotate the strike and from the other end we saw a little cameo from Afridi when he hit 3 sixes and a boundary before he was caught by mid off fielder on Milnes bowling for 27. Wahab Riaz joined Sarfraz and 22 runs were added by the two until Riaz edged one to the first slip off Milnes bowling when his score was 14. Sohail Tanvir joined Sarfraz next, they had a little stand of 17 runs which took the score to 248 before Sarfraz skied one into the fielders hand off McClenaghans bowling. His score was 23 and Mohammad Irfan the last batsman walked in next. Tanvir struck one boundary before getting LBW on next delivery of McClenaghan. Pakistan were all out on the score of 252. New Zealand started the run chase with their openers Brownlie and Devcich and for Pakistan Tanvir and Irfan opened the bowling. New Zealand openers looked at ease and in control against the Pakistani bowlers. The two batted batted very cleverly and put away only bad deliveries for boundaries. The bowling duo bowled 7 overs for 35 as Pakistan started to become desperate for a breakthrough. To make things worse for Pakistan the super fit 40 year old skipper started limping resulting in him leaving the field and Afridi taking over the charge. Afridi quickly brought himself and Haris in to the attack. The partnership continued to flourish between the openers as they first passed 50 and then brought up a 100 run stand which was their highest opening partnership since 2012. Score was 102 when Afridi broke the century stand when he bowled Brownlie with a googly for 47 runs. Skipper Kane Williamson walked in next at no. 3. Soon, Devcich scored his half century before he got run out in a horrible mix up with his captain for 58. Ross Taylor was next and his stay was short as he went for 2 runs edging one to Sarfraz on Hariss bowling. Latham walked in next and he could add only 3 runs to the teams total before he was departed trying to slog a six on Haris. Corey Anderson, then became Haris Sohails 3rd victim but that only brought in Luke Ronchi. He along with Williamson built up a 58 run stand which helped New Zealand get closer to the total. Williamson brought up his half century during the stand. Ronchi got out on 36 when he was caught by long off fielder Tanvir who took a phenomenal catch on Afridis bowling. Daniel Vettori was next and he and Williamson scored 26 more runs needed to finish the game in New Zealands favor. Williamson remained unbeaten on 70 to take his team home. The clamour for changes to the Pakistan batting line up will only increase after this display. Misbah-ul- Haqs own fitness may also be a factor in the lineup for the 3rd ODI in Sharjah on the 14th of December but it is clear that Pakistan top batting order is clearly in crisis and remedial action needs to be taken quickly to stem the rot.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 04:51:58 +0000
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