Pakistan scored 221 from the last 25 overs; 125 off the last 10; 65 from the last five and amassed a total that was far too strong for the Black Caps in Sharjah today. The imposing total of 364 was built around a superb century from opener Ahmed Shehzad (113), and a quick fire blast from captain Shahid Afridi (55). Shehzad was the initial architect, picking up on a series of loose New Zealand overs to pull and slash his way to a sixth ODI hundred. His innings was nicely orchestrated with an abundance of singles – 41 of them in total – and a4 neatly timed boundaries. He was helped no end by New Zealand’s inconsistent bowling effort by their back-up seamers and friendly paced allrounders. Of the New Zealand attack only Nathan McCullum went for under six runs-per-over, whereas most of the others went for plenty; Corey Anderson went for 96 from his ten – the third worst figure in one day cricket by a New Zealander.
Afridi’s blitz was something special. He has found a level of consistency he rarely displays in this series and his contribution with bat, ball and in the field was an impressive example for his players to follow. His response, along with most of the Pakistan line-up, to the short pitched bowling that had worked so well in the series thus far was combative. The midwicket region was as productive as any as Pakistan admirably stood up to the barrage of short bowling.
New Zealand’s unlikely attempt at Pakistan’s third highest total in ODI cricket got off to a typically disappointing start. On his return from injury Martin Guptill only succeeded in mistiming two pull shots, one of which was caught. Devcich failed, and the Black Caps best players were asked to do it all, again. Earlier in the week Brendon McCullum had explained to media that he would not swap his numbers 3 and 4 for any others in World cricket, and for a brief time it seemed entirely plausible that Taylor and Williamson could get NZ close. But shortly after Ross Taylor had struck three 6’s in eight balls, he missed an attempted cut off Afridi to be bowled for 31, and New Zealand limped to 217 all out.
Williamson played nicely again for 46 before falling to indecision while Ronchi added 41 late runs to further outline his value down the order. The big concern for New Zealand will be the double failing of all-round duo Jimmy Neesham and Anderson who continue to struggle in both skills.
The series heads back to Abu Dhabi where New Zealand need to win both to take out the series. Sportsbet Australia don’t think they can; they have listed NZ at $4.50 to win the series. They also have Series Score markets of: Pakistan 3-2 @ $1.91, and Pakistan 4-1 @ $2.50.
Pakistan 364 for 7 (Shehzad 113, Afridi 55, Henry 3-63) beat New Zealand 217 (Williamson 46, Afridi 3-37, Sohail 3-45) by 147 runs
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