PAKISTAN TOUR OF NEW ZEALAND

Guptill assault hands Pakistan second loss

by Cricbuzz Staff • Published on

Guptill make unbeaten 86 in the eight-wicket win. © Getty

Martin Guptill's maniac hitting helped New Zealand secure a 2-0 lead against Pakistan courtesy a comprehensive eight-wicket win in Nelson on Tuesday. Set to chase a revised target of 151 off 25 overs after losing over two hours to rain, the New Zealand opener switched gears effortlessly to polish off the target with seven balls to spare. Guptill (86 not out) was well complemented by Ross Taylor, who stayed unbeaten on 45.

Defending a modest 246, Mohammed Amir provided Pakistan an ideal start with the ball by taking out the dangerous Colin Munro, who edged to third man to bag a two-ball duck. Five balls later, Amir convinced skipper Sarfraz Ahmed to review a lbw call turned down against Kane Williamson when he hadn't even opened his account. While Williamson did survive the review - the ball tracked to be bouncing over the stumps - he didn't last long enough afterwards. Shadab Khan took a screamer at backward point to cut short the New Zealand captain's stay in the middle, reducing the opponents to 47 for 2.

Rain arrived shortly afterwards - with New Zealand on 64 for 2 after 14 overs - and only got heavier for the next hour.

Having lost more than two hours of play, New Zealand's target was recalculated to 151 from 25 overs. Effectively, the hosts needed 87 off 66 balls once the play resumed but also had to keep up with the DLS par score in case rain made an appearance again. Fittingly, Guptill assumed the role of the aggressor and the renewed approach was on display when he dispatched Hasan Ali into the stands on consecutive deliveries in his comeback over, before picking his third six in quick succession, of Shadab Khan, to race to 54 off 50 deliveries.

While Guptill did bulk of the damage, Taylor too helped himself to a couple of boundaries along the way. Though, the former skipper was lucky to be reprieved twice in quick succession - on 18 with Babar Azam missing a direct-hit and then on 30 with the top-edge falling just short of Inam-ul-Haq at short fine-leg.

The 16, 17 and 18th over of New Zealand's chase produced a total of 41 runs and the equation was brought down to a very manageable 42 required off as many deliveries. Not that it slowed down Guptill. The opener continued his six-hitting spree to knock off the remaining runs almost singlehandedly while hapless Pakistan fielders could only watch the ball run to the fence, or sail over it.

Earlier, a spirited fightback from Hasan and Shadab helped Pakistan to a respectable 246 for 9 despite being reduced to 141 for 7 at one stage. An under-fire Mohammad Hafeez was the sole contributor at the top, before the team managed to cross 200-run mark courtesy the late cameos.

Pakistan suffered their first major blow even before they took field as the in-form Fakhar Zaman was ruled out of the contest, having sustained a contusion in his right leg while fielding in the series opener. Then, the coin landed in Pakistan's favour but the batsmen failed to make the most of the opportunity to post an imposing total. Barring Hafeez - who too was guilty of throwing away a splendid start - none contributed enough.

Hafeez, 40 away from completing 6000 ODI runs, did make sufficient to raise Pakistan's hopes of a comeback but he couldn't convert his half-century into something more match-defining. Just as Pakistan seemed to have found a batsman that would bat through, the 37-year-old fell to a premeditated skip-down-the-track. Mitchell Santner, seeing the batsman advance, threw it wide outside off. Hafeez reached out but slapped it straight to Guptill at extra cover.

The batsmen before Hafeez were, as if, merely making up the numbers. Inam-ul-Haq couldn't make optimum use of the opportunity he got in Zaman's absence. An over after successfully reviewing a caught-behind call, he became the first of many to gift-wrap his wicket - pulling a short ball well outside of off-stump off Trent Boult straight down the throat of Munro at square leg.

Azhar Ali's dismissal was strikingly similar to the one in Wellington, only this time he didn't waste a team's review. Babar Azam couldn't have offered an easier catch to first-slip, helping Lockie Ferguson open his account. Shoaib Malik looked to attack and did have his moments but pressure started to build after he played out a bunch of dots on the trot. In his attempt to break free, Malik charged down the track but holed out to Southee instead.

Faheem Ashraf and Sarfraz Ahmed were in and out in a jiffy as Pakistan slipped further. Hasan and Shadab the stitched a 70-run stand that prevented a dramatic collapse.

Hasan upped the ante with a couple of lusty blows off Santner - a spectacularly-timed flick for six, immediately followed by a slog-sweep for six more. Astle came in the firing line in the 43rd over that went for 21 runs, as Hasan struck his third six and a couple of fours to bring up the fifty of his partnership with Shadab. From 39 off 27, he raced to his maiden ODI fifty in just four next deliveries. Wild, fist-pumping celebrations ensued but Southee had the last laugh as the 23-year-old holed out to the long-on fielder in the same over.

Shadab accelerated towards the end to register his half-century that'd give Pakistan a fighting total. The bowlers did respond well initially, but rain put paid to their hopes of a comeback with the ball.

Brief scores: Pakistan 246/9 in 50 overs (Mohammad Hafeez 60, Shadab Khan 52, Hasan Ali 51; Lockie Ferguson 3-39) lost to New Zealand 151/2 in 23.5 overs (Martin Guptill 86*, Ross Taylor 45*; Mohammad Amir 1-18) by eight wickets (on DLS method).

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