Guppy hits go button to reign in the rain
Black Caps fit up Pakistanis in straitjackets at outset and opener then hits T20 mode
The belligerence of Martin Guptill and the pragmatism of Ross Taylor combined to ease New Zealand to victory in a rain-disrupted second one-day international in Nelson yesterday.
The hosts left the field at 64 for two after 14 overs, chasing 247 for victory. When they resumed, New Zealand required 87 runs from 11 overs to reach the target of 151. They won by eight wickets with seven balls to spare via the DuckworthLewis Method.
Guptill changed gears from ODI to T20 mode, accelerating like a finelytuned sports car. He’d left the field with 31 from 40 balls and finished with 86 from 71 balls. Taylor was more like a tank. He negotiated any terrain, adding to his 14 from as many balls to end the match on 45 from 43 balls.
Their unbeaten third-wicket stand was worth 104 runs.
Skipper Kane Williamson says it was pleasing to see Guptill and Taylor play so well. “To see Martin play with that freedom at his best, and Ross calming at the other end, was great to watch,” he said. “It was a brilliant partnership to get us across the line.”
The Black Caps have now won nine games across all formats. The second match delivered more of the pep expected from a Pakistan side which won last year’s Champions Trophy. Yet New Zealand excelled against one of the best current exponents in the 50-over format.
Earlier, ODI bests from Hasan Ali and Shadab Khan salvaged what shaped as a feeble Pakistan innings.
Hasan’s previous highest score in 10 ODIs was 13, but he posted the Black Caps bowlers to all parts in a 70-run eighth-wicket stand with Shadab.
Hasan hammered 51 off 31 balls; Shadab made 52 off 68 balls, equalling his highest score against Sri Lanka in October.
Hasan, the world’s No 1 bowler, normally reserves Freddie Mercurytype celebrations for dismissing batsmen. He saved an encore for his batting milestone. Outside their cameos, and Mohammad Hafeez’s 60 from 71 balls, New Zealand straitjacketed the visitors at the outset.
After being asked to field, the hosts took advantage of a Saxton Oval pitch struggling for bounce and carry.
Seven out of the nine completed ODIs at the venue have been won by the chasing team.
Trent Boult (one for 54) and Tim Southee (two for 57) were parsimonious early, restricting Pakistan to 39 for two after nine overs before Mitchell Santner was introduced. Boult continues his supremacy in the 50-over format this season where he has 13 wickets at an average of 14.53 and strike rate of 19 across both this summer’s ODI series.
Pakistan, missing form opener Fakhar Zaman who was rested with a bruised right thigh, felt the pressure.
Imam-ul-Haq offered a weak pull to Colin Munro at mid-wicket off Boult; Azhar Ali fell lbw to Southee for consecutive matches after stepping too far across to off stump and trying to work the ball through the legside.
Ferguson bustled with pace, albeit on a slower surface than Wellington but he still caused havoc on occasion, defying the conditions. He coaxed the edge from Babar with his second ball, after coming on in the 11th over. Faheem Ashraf was caught by Southee at fine leg when he could not get bat to ball in time.
The spinning all-rounder duo of Mitchell Santner and Todd Astle delivered consistent returns for the most part, but Astle lapsed in his final over, conceding 21 runs.
The concession of 12 wides might be a concern, but that is a minor distraction in a summer delivering major results and this time New Zealand are facing proper international competition.