Updated on
Summary
Pakistan scored an emphatic 138-runs victory over New Zealand in the first One-day match of the Cool & Cool Cup series at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.Pakistan winning the toss elected to bat. New Zealand pacer Shane Bond produced a fine opening spell to dismiss opener Salman Butt and skipper Younus Khan for ducks.Bond produced a moving delivery and forced Butt to edge to wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum. Khan, who is reeling under bad form, went for a square drive and edged Bond's delivery into the McCullum's gloves.Mohammad Yousuf and Latif took the score to 57. Yousuf, who looked like settling for a big score, was run out off a brilliant pick up and throw from Martin Guptill to the non strikers end from cover point. Vettori exposed Umar Akmal's inexperience by producing a delivery that spun across his bat to hit his off stump.Shahid Afridi sparkled with the bat and ball to inflict the crushing defeat on New Zealand and eventually bagged the Man of the Match award. He lifted Pakistan out of trouble through an elegant 70 runs and took two wickets at a crucial stage of the game.Pakistan opener Khalid Latif, playing in only his second one-day match, and Afridi helped their team register a mammoth 287 for 9 through a 101 runs partnership for the fifth wicket. Kamran Akmal, coming out to bat at No.7, chipped in with a breezy unbeaten 67 runs off 43 balls with five boundaries and four sixes to ensure the huge total. New Zealand began their chase on a slow pace. Brendon McCullum was the first to go, playing an Umar Gul delivery on to this wicket for 21.Next man Martin Guptill lasted only nine balls to score four runs before Gul bowled him too. Two wickets down for 34 in the first ten overs, Pakistan took a firm grip.The mantle of lifting New Zealand fell on Ross Taylor and Aaron Redmond. Left-arm pacer Mohammad Aamer produced a beautiful moving delivery to force Taylor edge to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal for a duck. Scott Styris, who had last played one day cricket against India in March this year at Auckland, joined Redmond. He pulled Abdul Razzaq to substitute Imran Farhat at deep square leg for five.All eyes turned toward Vettori. He settled down quickly and put on 69 runs for the fifth wicket. Redmond went on to hit his third half century from his eighth One-day match. At his score on 52, Redmond went to sweep Saeed Ajmal's quicker delivery and was trapped leg before. His knock came off 91 balls and contained six boundaries. By the 32nd over the run rate climbed to nine. Vettori kept the score board moving. At the score on 139 for 5, Vettori went for a wild sweep across the line off Afridi and got clean bowled for 38. Afridi also trapped Nathan McCullum leg before for a duck with the very next ball.New Zealand were bowled out for 149 runs in 39.2 overs.
