The BLACKCAPS innings was headlined by a fantastic knock from stand-in skipper Kane Williamson, with his sublime innings getting his side through to 299-5.
Before the match, players observed two minutes silence following the tragic events in Peshawar the previous day. They also wore black armbands during play, in what was an especially emotional time for the Pakistan side.
Both teams observed two minutes silence pre-match as a mark of respect for the victims of Peshawar
The new opening pairing of Martin Guptill (58) and Dean Brownlie (42) began the BLACKCAPS innings with purpose and gave away few chances in the opening 10 overs. A stand of 81 after 16 overs had set a substantial platform for the BLACKCAPS to build from and Williamson took full advantage.
Alongside Guptill and Ross Taylor (34), Williamson helped the New Zealand side maintain the momentum and reach 150-2 in the 32nd over.
With eight overs to go, the BLACKCAPS had made their way to 227-4 and Williamson was beginning to close in on his fourth ODI ton. After 92 balls at the crease he deservedly brought up the milestone, having assured the visitors a competitive total to bowl at.
To Pakistan’s credit, they succeeded in keeping a lid on the BLACKCAPS run-rate in the final overs, but they would still be asked to chase a challenging 300 for victory.
Their response, didn’t get off to a bright start, with Matt Henry ripping out the off-stump of Ahmed Shehzad fourth ball. It was beaut of a delivery and once again put the BLACKCAPS on the front foot.
Three further wickets in the 13th, 16 and 22nd overs had the BLACKCAPS in control -but Younis Khan had other ideas. The veteran, playing despite being deeply affected by events in Peshawar, became the oldest ever player to score an ODI ton, bringing it up in 114 balls. He formed good partnerships with Umar Akmal (29) and Shahid Afridi (49), and was able to go big when he needed to.
Tom Latham takes a catch to remove Haris Sohail
Akmal was run out unluckily at the non striker's end when Mitchell McClenaghan got a touch to a straight hit from Younis. Afridi was in brutal mood, hitting five fours and two sixes in his 25 ball innings, but was picked up by Adam Milne (1-39), in a spell that hit the magical 150 KPH mark yet again.
When Younis was bowled by Daniel Vettori the match began to slip away, as the tail enders were unable to find the boundaries required, thanks to some tight bowling from Milne, Matt Henry, Corey Anderson (1-40 from 8) and McClenaghan (1-69). 15 were needed from the final over, and Matt Henry (1-68) closed it out to give the BLACKCAPS the win by seven runs.
We now go to the fifth match to find the winner of the ODI series, the last of a tour that's produced some memorable cricket.
