Pakistan’s batting woes continued in the final clash between the two teams as New Zealand whitewashed a miserable Sarfaraz XI.
In a series where Pakistan had no answer to the brand of cricket New Zealand were playing, there were only a few positives for Sarfaraz; Fakhar Zaman’s more cautious batting, Faheem Ashraf’s aggressive batting and Shadab’s all-round abilities.
New Zealand, on the other hand, completely dominated the visitors in the 5-match series. Everything they tried, worked for them. It may be a stroke of luck, or it may be Pakistan doing what they do best.
1st Innings
Winning the toss, New Zealand decided to bat first. A brilliant hundred from the opener Martin Guptill (100) led the way with contributions from the top order helped Williamson XI put a very competitive total on the board.
Late fight from Pakistan ensured that New Zealand didn’t get away with a 300+ score. Taylor scored his 41st half-century in his 201st match.
Rumman took three wickets while Faheem Ashraf scalped 2. Although Muhammad Nawaz didn’t pick any wicket but he was economical, giving away just 43 in his 10 overs.
Via Cricinfo
2nd Innings
Uman Amin who replaced the injured Shoaib Malik opened the innings for Pakistan along with Fakhar Zaman. Both the openers fell cheaply to Matt Henry who played his first match of the series. Babar Azam couldn’t last long either falling to Henry, while Hafeez departed when scoreline read 4-52.
The burden of responsibility fell on the shoulders of Sarfaraz Ahmed and Haris Sohail, the captain failing to put up a fight yet again scoring just 3 runs.
Fighting half-centuries from Haris (63) and Shadab (54), and rearguard from Faheem Ashraf (23), Aamer Yamin (32) and Muhammad Nawaz (23), took the game close, but couldn’t get the team over the line. Pakistan was bowled out for 256 in 49 overs, losing by 15 runs.
Matt Henry grabbed 4 while Santner grabbed 3 important wickets.
Via Cricinfo
Awards
Martin Guptill was the sole contender for Man of the Match award. He was also adjudged the Player of the Series as he top scored the series with 310 runs at a staggering average of 77.50.
