Pakistan won by 5 wkts
PLAYER OF THE MATCH : Fakhar Zaman
Batter
Bowler
And that's a wrap for today... We'll be back on Saturday at the same venue for the second ODI. Can New Zealand bounce back in that one or will Pakistan extend their lead? Only time will tell, for now time for goodbyes. Stay safe...
Babar Azam: This was a team effort, we want to start well. The credit belongs to the fast bowlers for the way we restricted them in the end. As a captain, to see players respond and execute plans feels good. The way Naseem bowled put the pressure on them and then the spinners could dominate. Then the way Fakhar and Imam played, then the innings Fakhar and I build together was great to see.
Tom Latham: I think the score we got was about par. The position we were in, Daryl played a superb innings. I think the wicket got harder for new guys, but the way Pakistan played was superb. We couldn't make any inroads. (On whether the first 10 overs or last 10 cost New Zealand) A mixture of both, it got harder in the end but the two partnerships up top from Pakistan made the difference. I guess a few more wickets could have made it different, because it wasn't easy to start.
Fakhar Zaman | Player of the Match: The plan was to attack and stay long. If you survive the new ball at Pindi you must stay long. It is a very good start, one of our first three needs to go on and bat till 40 overs. Today was my day and hopefully Imam and Babar will also play big knocks.
23:31 Local Time, 18:31 GMT, 00:01 IST: Pakistan get home in the end but made it way more difficult than it should have been. Sometimes, they can be their own worst enemies. This game was set nicely by the openers who put on an opening stand of 124 runs. The deck was flat, the hard new ball was coming on nicely and Fakhar Zaman and Imam made the most of conditions. The latter got to fifty after which he was trapped LBW by Ish Sodhi. However, out walked skipper Babar and stitched a crucial partnership with Fakhar Zaman. The southpaw kept batting and got a superb hundred, with Babar also motoring away at the other end. At one point, it felt as though Pakistan might win by nine wickets with plenty overs to spare, but then Babar edged one to the keeper while batting on 49, and then Shan Masood struggled to get going to further compound the pressure. Fakhar Zaman also threw it away trying to attack Rachin Ravindra, as Pakistan's chase felt rocky. However, the experience of someone like Mohammad Rizwan proved to be the difference, as he came out to bat in tricky circumstances and counter-attacked with a 34-ball 42 to take the game away from New Zealand. For the visitors, they'll harp on the fact that they didn't attack enough while they batted, specially skipper Latham and Nicholls, as they finished sub par. Over to the presentations now...
Ravindra to Rizwan, FOUR, full and quick again, Rizwan slog sweeps it through mid-wicket to close the game!! Pakistan go 1 up in the five game series...
Ravindra to Rizwan, no run, full and straight, defended
All the fielders come in. Except square leg
Ravindra to Nawaz, 1 run, flat delivery, punched down to long-on off the backfoot
Rachin Ravindra [7.0-0-48-1] is back into the attack
END OF OVER 48
8 Runs
PAK: 286 - 5
0 0 1 4 2 1
Mohammad Nawaz
7 (9)
Mohammad Rizwan
38 (32)
Blair Tickner
9-0-52-1
Tickner to Nawaz, 1 run, good length onto the pads, clipped towards deep mid-wicket
Tickner to Nawaz, 2 runs, short on off, slapped over the infield again. This time mid-off can run back to save a couple of runs
Tickner to Nawaz, FOUR, Nawaz waited 7 balls to get off the mark and now starts out with a boundary!! This was banged into the pitch towards off, Nawaz backs away to slap it over the infield. Mid-off chases after it and gets hands to it on the dive, but can't parry to safety. Four more and now Pakistan are just a hit away...
Tickner to Rizwan, 1 run, fuller on off, Rizwan drives to mid-on for a single
Tickner to Rizwan, no run, short on off, pulled to mid-wicket. Two dots here!!
Tickner to Rizwan, no run, pace off and full, defended to point
END OF OVER 47
5 Runs
PAK: 278 - 5
0 4 0 1 0 0
Mohammad Nawaz
0 (6)
Mohammad Rizwan
37 (29)
Matt Henry
10-0-45-0
Matt Henry to Nawaz, no run, length ball that keeps terribly low and skids on. Nawaz is very fortunate that missed the off stump
Matt Henry to Nawaz, no run, good length on off from round the wicket, punched to extra cover
Matt Henry to Rizwan, 1 run, onto the pads, tickled towards fine leg
Matt Henry to Rizwan, no run, very full on the boots, turned to mid-wicket