PAKISTAN 210 all out (Misbah ul-Haq 58, Shahid Afridi 67, Kyle Mills 2-29, Trent Boult 2-25) lost to the BLACKCAPS 213-3 (Grant Elliott 64*, Ross Taylor 59*, Martin Guptill 39) by seven wickets at Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
The BLACKCAPS have bounced back superbly to claim a comfortable seven-wicket win over Pakistan in the opening ODI of the ANZ International Series in Wellington.
Ross Taylor (59*) and Grant Elliott (64*) were key as the home side reached the paltry total of 211 in the 40th over in a dominant performance with both bat and ball at Westpac Stadium.
Taylor brought up his 29th ODI half century and Elliott consolidated his position as the No.5 and rock of the side with an important innings to back up his century from Dunedin.
The pair combined well with an unbroken 112 run partnership to guide the BLACKCAPS home in stress-free fashion.
Earlier, opener Guptill got back to his shot-making best in an innings of 39 off 48 balls that would have done wonders for his confidence.
The 28-year-old from Auckland bashed the Pakistani openers to all boundaries. He looked set and ready for a big score before he chipped one to the boundary fielder in the 19th over.
Likewise, Tom Latham, who got a late call up with a shoulder injury to Kane Williamson, looked in complete control in his innings of 23 from 28 balls before he was caught behind from the bowling of Shahid Afridi,
The promise of form from both Guptill and Latham will please BLACKCAPS coach Mike Hesson no end.
Earlier, Misbah ul-Haq lost the toss and McCullum quick to make the decision to bowl first. Four changes were made to the team that lost the final ANZ ODI against Sri Lanka with Nathan McCullum, Boult, Adam Milne and Tom Latham returning to the starting XI.
Mills set the tone when he bowled Mohammad Hafeez on the fifth ball of the innings when Pakistan was yet to get off the mark.
After the loss in the final ODI against Sri Lanka, Hesson asked for more accuracy from his seam bowlers and they responded.
Kyle Mills and Trent Boult led the way for the BLACKCAPS as they bowled out the visitors for 210 in 45.3 overs.
The effort that was set up by the pace and accuracy of the seam attack.was backed up by superb fielding, particularly from Guptill who claimed three quality catches.
The veteran, who was playing his 170th ODI for New Zealand today, completed a fine spell of bowling with 2 for 29 from his 10 overs which made a statement ahead of the ICC World Cup.
In the 12th over, Mills had Younis Khan (9) trapped in front which made amends - Khan was caught on the boundary earlier in the innings, but it was a no ball.
Boult, at the other end of the experience spectrum in ODI, with only 14 ODIs to his name, was also parsimonious with his opening spell of 1 for 19 runs from his 7 overs. He returned at the death the uneviable task of reeling in Afridi and finished with figures of 2 for 25 off 9 overs.
Captain Misbah ul-Haq (58 from 87 balls) was the mainstay of the Pakistani effort, which for the most part lacked any kind of urgency. That all changed in the 36th over when he was joined by one of the game’s great all-rounders in Shahid Afridi. The 34-year-old was aggressive from ball one as he blasted a quick-fire 67 from 29 balls to help Pakistan post a competitive total.
He got some help along the way with Brendon McCullum dropping a tough chance trailing back to long off when Afridi was on 18. It proved costly as he added another 39 runs in a carefree display. It was an innings that stirred memories of Inzamam Ul Haq’s World Cup heroics at Eden Park in 1992 and highlighted the danger of Afridi to all teams ahead of the ICC World Cup.
Speedster Adam Milne returned to the crease after missing three games with a side-strain injury, and was back to his explosive best, often ripping them in at more than 150km per hour.
Milne showed that his pace, the fastest we have seen in this country since Shane Bond was opening the attack, creates real problems and he was unlucky to not get greater reward. The reward in the end was sweet as he claimed the wicket of the danger man Afridi.
The all-rounders also chipped in. Corey Anderson (2-47 off 6 overs) was more expensive than he would have liked, but he picked up the valuable wicket of Haris Sohail (23) when Guptill pulled off a brilliant catch at gully. He later claimed the wicket of Sarfraz Ahmed (5) with Latham taking a good catch on the boundary.
Hometown hero Grant Elliott also claimed three wickets as the tail looked to hit him out of the park.
The BLACKCAPS have five quality pace men – Mills, Boult, Tim Southee, Milne and Mitchell McClenaghan – and they are all pressing hard for inclusion in the starting XI for the World Cup opener.
Today’s match in the capital was important for the BLACKCAPS - as Pakistan is a possible quarterfinal opponent in the World Cup on March 21 – and the comfortable win will add more belief to a camp that is riding high on confidence.
