Pakistan faced a five-wicket defeat to New Zealand in their ODI World Cup warm-up match in Hyderabad on Friday. Opting to bat first, Pakistan posted 345/5 in 50 overs with Mohammad Rizwan hitting 103 while skipper Babar Azam scored 80 runs. Later, New Zealand chased the target in just 43.4 overs as Rachin Ravindra played a superb knock of 97 runs. Besides him, captain Babar Azam also scored a half-century, playing his first match since March.
Despite being on the losing side, the match proved to be a memorable one for Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan, who scored a century in 93 balls. After the first innings of the match, Rizwan expressed his gratitude to the people of Hyderabad for giving the team a warm welcome upon their arrival.
“A hundred is a hundred, we are proud and happy with that. Scoring a century for Pakistan is always special. The Indian crowd gave us a lot of love at the airport itself, just like our fans in Pakistan love us. We were welcomed to India in a great way,” Rizwan said midway through the innings.
Rizwan further spoke about his batting position in the team and stated that he can bat wherever the team needs him.
“In T20Is I open for Pakistan, in Tests I play at 6-7 and in ODIs I play at number 4, I play as per the team requirements. Saud Shakeel is in great form and he played a classy bat today. Hopefully he turns I want also be a great player in the ODI format. Me and Babar try to rotate the batting, we bat in the same way, our communication is good and that helps us,” he added.
Talking about the match, Kane Williamson showed his class in his first league match in six months while Rachin Ravindra topped the order as New Zealand set a target of 346 runs.
Apart from the openers, Pakistani batters including Mohammad Rizwan (103 retired, hurt on 91), Babar Azam (80 off 84) and Saud Shaukeel (75 off 53) had a good hit in the middle, helping their team to a daunting 345 could accommodate five in. 50 hours of overtime.
New Zealand reached the target in 43.4 overs with contributions from Ravindra (97 off 72), Williamson (54 off 50), Daryl Mitchell (59 retired, hurt off 57) and Mark Chapman (65 not out off 41).
(With PTI inputs)
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