Pakistan suffer back-to-back defeats as New Zealand win 2nd ODI by 8 wkts in a rain shortened game

[MenInG]

Pakistan 246/9 (50 ov), New Zealand 151/2 (23.5/25 ov, target: 151)
New Zealand won by 8 wickets (with 7 balls remaining) (D/L method)

 

[Titan24]

those guys took their defeats, you didn't hear one excuse after another. Funnily enough they've fared s lot better than Pakistan have here.

Nobody is giving any excuse. Though were without Junaid, Imad, Shinwari and Zaman (In this match) but still there is no excuse.

May I ask how they Aus, India fared well? Even your comms were saying the Pak bowling and fielding is giving a much harder time to NZ then few of your recent series and mind you there are still three ODI's remaining.

 

[Pete Rose]

So livid with this squad selection. I mean I have vented my spleen out about the usual cowards, but what gets me riled up is that inzi has learned zero lessons from the ct.
They dropped she had to play fakhar and he literally carried the batting. And what does inzi do, he bring the 70 strike rate plodding imam Ul haq. For the love of all that is holy can we once and for all agree that performance against Sri Lanka counts for next to nothing when judging pedigree.
Awful squad

 

[Aman]

Pakistan's fielding isn't going to improve, but a couple of changes in the XI will make games closer.

NZ haven't been clinical as I would like, but they showed glimpses today with the ease in which they chased down the runs after the break.

 

[Pete Rose]

Nobody is giving any excuse. Though were without Junaid, Imad, Shinwari and Zaman (In this match) but still there is no excuse.

May I ask how they Aus, India fared well? Even your comms were saying the Pak bowling and fielding is giving a much harder time to NZ then few of your recent series and mind you there are still three ODI's remaining.

As I said NZ were beaten in these countries when they toured. But Pakistan loses home and away

 

[Titan24]

So livid with this squad selection. I mean I have vented my spleen out about the usual cowards, but what gets me riled up is that inzi has learned zero lessons from the ct.
They dropped she had to play fakhar and he literally carried the batting. And what does inzi do, he bring the 70 strike rate plodding imam Ul haq. For the love of all that is holy can we once and for all agree that performance against Sri Lanka counts for next to nothing when judging pedigree.
Awful squad

Any recommendations regarding selections?

 

[Aman]

Nobody is giving any excuse. Though were without Junaid, Imad, Shinwari and Zaman (In this match) but still there is no excuse.

May I ask how they Aus, India fared well? Even your comms were saying the Pak bowling and fielding is giving a much harder time to NZ then few of your recent series and mind you there are still three ODI's remaining.

Games were closer and they've required our best to beat them.

I didn't mean you in particular just others who keep pointing to the rain and hypotheticals to justify results.

 

[Titan24]

As I said NZ were beaten in these countries when they toured. But Pakistan loses home and away

When Pak lost home series against NZ, Pak team was nowhere near as good as it is currently now. That team had not one of the current stars.

 

[Pete Rose]

When Pak lost home series against NZ, Pak team was nowhere near as good as it is currently now. That team had not one of the current stars.

Sure but the batting is still putting up the same scores as that team

 

[Pete Rose]

Any recommendations regarding selections?

I would have gone with sahibzada Farhan as the second opener to fakhar. Promote fahim Ashraf to one down because I think babar zaman is a soft player. Sarfaraz at 5 (if he plays he has to come higher). The haris and after that the usual guys

 

[Titan24]

Games were closer and they've required our best to beat them.

I didn't mean you in particular just others who keep pointing to the rain and hypotheticals to justify results.

Who is missing from NZ squad, which is making it not their best team?

Yes Australian touring NZ for ODIs was pretty competitive but rest of the series recently were pretty one sided.

I have to admit NZ is one of the strongest if not the strongest LOI side in their home, though Pakistan could have played much better cricket especially their batting department.

 

[Titan24]

I would have gone with sahibzada Farhan as the second opener to fakhar. Promote fahim Ashraf to one down because I think babar zaman is a soft player. Sarfaraz at 5 (if he plays he has to come higher). The haris and after that the usual guys

Sahibzada is emerging player for ISL, he will be fast tracked if he performs well in PSL, so we will have to wait and watch for that.

While for Babar, you cant change his position on the basis of numbers he has got at one down position including 7 centuries and he is just 23. But yeah you can take a tough decision but if it doesnt work out then cricket analysts will criticize and they wont be wrong.

 

[Aman]

Who is missing from NZ squad, which is making it not their best team?

Yes Australian touring NZ for ODIs was pretty competitive but rest of the series recently were pretty one sided.

I have to admit NZ is one of the strongest if not the strongest LOI side in their home, though Pakistan could have played much better cricket especially their batting department.

Best as in the team playing their best cricket.

We've played that in patches this series and still won without too much fuss.

 

[Pete Rose]

Sahibzada is emerging player for ISL, he will be fast tracked if he performs well in PSL, so we will have to wait and watch for that.

While for Babar, you cant change his position on the basis of numbers he has got at one down position including 7 centuries and he is just 23. But yeah you can take a tough decision but if it doesnt work out then cricket analysts will criticize and they wont be wrong.

My problem is that the squad selected is for a strategy of scoring 240 runs not 270.

 

[Raja Sab]

both games lost via D/L can't really judge them on the loss tbh

 

[Raja Sab]

Best as in the team playing their best cricket.

We've played that in patches this series and still won without too much fuss.

NZ at home has been unbeatable for sometime now. Same team will perish horribly outside

 

[Aman]

NZ at home has been unbeatable for sometime now. Same team will perish horribly outside

We beat Pakistan in the UAE, have taken India to a decider twice, beat England and then lost another series in the decider.

We're competitive away but haven't taken our chances in deciders.

Nor are we untouchable at home, SA have beaten us with ease the last few times they've toured.

 

[Raja Sab]

We beat Pakistan in the UAE, have taken India to a decider twice, beat England and then lost another series in the decider.

We're competitive away but haven't taken our chances in deciders.

Nor are we untouchable at home, SA have beaten us with ease the last few times they've toured.

we have also taken England to a decider, beaten New Zealand in New Zealand in both ODs and Test series 2010 when every other team were failing

 

[iniqbal223]

I have harping about our batting performance during SL seriesHafeez and Malik can't play as our #4/5 batsman. Sarfaraz missed the trick by not promoting him and Imad for batting during that series. (and yes I still believe Imad is very good spinner against non-Asian teams, his economy is very good, he builds pressure for other bowlers to cash in). In this era of aggressive batting I would take any bowler who can dry u one end.

Secondly, I talked a lot about game time that needs to be given to our young players, the more they get the more they can develop themselves. Azhar/Malik/Hafeez getting privilege of maximum game time and yet not able to convert anything for team nor for themselves. These so called seniors, if they have to play, come at #6/7/8, this can help team as whole for various reasons:

1) Malik/Azhar/Haffez : Lets be honest, these seniors don't have skills, temparament or awareness to play against quality bowling/fielding sides. They have their limited shots, they can't learn new shots/skills , and they have already been decoded by opposition teams in past(All teams know very well what their weaknesses are). Its evident they are trying their best, but sadly, its not helping anyone in team nor themselves.

2) Sarfaraz : is an eager captain, who wants to win every game. But you can't, if you are not performing. This way he will lose respect, and nobody will listen to him. Hiding is not a solution for him.Getting out to Southe/ Boult is more respectable than getting out to harmless Astle.

3) Babar : It will tough be for him, and a learning curve for him as well.

4) Raees : He doesn't looks like a front line bowler in this series so far. He should be given all the games ( considering we don't have backup pace bowler); and then we can judge, whether he is a T20 bowler/ODI one.

5) Faheem : Work in progress. His batting shows confidence, and he is willing to take risks. Needs to play more to become better. And as far as bowling is concerned, he needs to pitch it up. In an over, he bowls too many rubbish bowls, between good ones.

6) Shadab/HAsan/Amir : Doing good


My 11 for the remaining series:

Faker
Fahim Ashraf (get the momentum)
Babar
Sarfaraz
Malik
Shadab
HAfeez
Amir Yamin
Hasan
Amir
Rumman Raees

 

[MenInG]

Martin Guptill climbed off the physio table to deliver the match-winning knock in New Zealand's rain-affected eight-wicket victory over Pakistan in Nelson on Tuesday.

The Black Caps opener said he spent the two-hour rain break getting treatment on his back after it "locked up" when he was at the crease, prior to the showers at 4:20pm.

"I was trying to get my back loosened up. I spent a lot of time on the physio table lying down. I didn't get up to too much, I was just making sure my back was nice and loose so I could come back out and swing a few to do the boundary," said Guptill, who stepped up when in-form team-mate Colin Munro went for a duck.

Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor shake hands after New Zealand win the second ODI.
Kai Schwoerer
Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor shake hands after New Zealand win the second ODI.

"I'm just getting old I think. It has locked up a few times in the past but you've just got to work through it and manage it for the next 24-48 hours to make sure it's tracking nicely."

Guptill said he did not expect to return to the pitch as the second ODI appeared destined for a washout with the Black Caps pacing along at 64-2 after 14 overs.

But the rain passed and the game eventually resumed with the Black Caps set a revised total of 151 for victory in 25 overs - a much kinder target than the 247 set by Pakistan.

Guptill and Ross Taylor quickly went about their work, combining for an unbeaten partnership of 104, with Guptill finishing up on a game-high 86 from 71.

"The way I was thinking was if we could just chance our arm in the first few overs with the fielders up and we could get ahead of the rate then we could just cruise towards the end, and that's how it played out," Guptill said.

Pakistan were without injured Fakhar Zaman, who scored 82 not out in the first match at the Basin Reserve, and the talented opener's absence was certainly felt early on as his replacement, Imam ul-Haq, was caught for two, while fellow opener Azhar Ali was dismissed for six.

Veteran allrounder Mohammad Hafeez (60 from 71) offered some much-needed resistance in the middle of the order before Hasan Ali (51 from 31) and Shadab Khan (52 from 68) combined for a blistering 70-run partnership as Pakistan raced through to 246-9.

"They played extremely well down their lower order to get to 240-odd and put a bit of pressure back on us," Guptill said.

"It's always a tough old wicket here and it can always slow up a bit. I think they found at about the eight to 10 over mark in our innings that it was quite difficult to score and we sort of halted a wee bit. But we were just lucky to get through and not lose any wickets in that tough little period and came back out after the break."

Seeing as the target was reduced to 151 in 25 overs, Guptill admitted that Pakistan would probably feel hard done by with the weather in a city just named New Zealand's sunniest. But Guptill said he was sick of the rain too, after the first ODI was also decided by the Duckworth-Lewis method.

"We're pretty sick of it in the last week but at the end of the day you can't control the weather so you've got to turn up and hope for some blue sky and if it rains, it rains."

Attention now turns to University Oval in Dunedin where allrounder Colin de Grandhomme will rejoin the Black Caps for game three after he was granted leave following the sudden death of his father, Laurence, in Zimbabwe last month. He replaces George Worker in the only change to the squad.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/crick...r-climbs-off-the-table-to-dish-out-punishment

 

[Usman Chadda]

Best as in the team playing their best cricket.

We've played that in patches this series and still won without too much fuss.

Your batting has been okay but the bowling has been as good as it has ever been. Southee and Boult are bowling inch perfect lines at the top and getting our opening batters out. Not to mention Williamson has been sublime with the angles. You have to back yourself as a batsman and play unorthodox aggressive cricket to take on New Zealand in New Zealand.

 

[the Great Khan]

I was dissapointed with this loss as the rain really affected the game..Was very encouraging to see the young lads at the lower end play well. If only the top order had given them a platform. Overall I'm encouraged by what i see and this team is a work in progress. We really need to back them as this is all a new experience for most of them.

I think not having Junaid khan in the side and hafeez not bowling is hampering our strategy. Junaid would have been pretty good in these conditions and hafeez can slow down an innings.

The batting hasnt clicked yet but there were signs that it is coming to the fore. The problem is we have no time at all so they have to get their heads straight quickly. Azhar is a notorious slow starter in series and he hasnt played much either. Fakhar's injury was unfortunate. I hope we win a couple of matches and Ill be ok with it (although not mega happy)..

 

[Amjid Javed]

7th defeat in on the spin barring an abandened match in kiwi conditions.

The tempo of batting was pathetic, why the hell do u let kiwis new ball bowlers settle into line and length god only knows. We will be lucky to win a game in this series with our pathetic batting.

 

[MMHS]

A well deserved defeat & quite a comprehensive one - a tribute to the call at toss. At Nelson, under gloomy sky, with every chance of a rain shorten game, PAK batted first because last match kiwis win batting first.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

stop rain pls

 

[MRSN]

A well deserved defeat & quite a comprehensive one - a tribute to the call at toss. At Nelson, under gloomy sky, with every chance of a rain shorten game, PAK batted first because last match kiwis win batting first. ��

It does not matter if you bat first or second when you have such mediocre batting. I'm pretty sure NZ batsmen would have put up a 350-400 runs on this tiny ground with pitch ideal for big hitting. It would have been too much for our batsmen to chase @ 10 runs per over even with the help of rain.

 

[MMHS]

It does not matter if you bat first or second when you have such mediocre batting. I'm pretty sure NZ batsmen would have put up a 350-400 runs on this tiny ground with pitch ideal for big hitting. It would have been too much for our batsmen to chase @ 10 runs per over even with the help of rain.

May be, but then PAK shouldn’t have toured at all. Point is, batting first was a knee jerk reaction - based on a batting collapse while chasing and Kiwis posting 300+ for missing a regulation catch.

Excluding everything, I can’t recall when a team defending a total at Nelson - probably we won in 47 overs chasing 320 against Ireland in WC. Besides, today it was an overcast morning with every chance of rain shorten game. For the sake of saying, I back PAK more to chase 200 in 25 overs than 300 in 50.

 

[Sherlock]

Just watched the highlights, and although it may not pinpoint everything that may have/didn't happen I have to say NZ were once again brilliant.

Excellent captaincy by Williamson and superb response by his players.

Fully deserved.

 

[maanleo]

Keeping the usual mediocrity aside (in tactics and top order batting), there is at least one positive, lower order batting is best ever for Pakistan and one of the best currently in the world.
It is hard to justify Sarfaraz's position in the team let alone captaincy.
Hafeez has shown better performance. I know brilliant brains of team management will not consider this but with current squad this should be a better team;
1- Fakhar
2-Hafeez
3-Babar
4-Haris
5-Sarfaraz
6-Malik
7-Amir Yameen
8-Shadab
9-Faheem
10- Hasan
11-Amir

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

Gratz NZ

 

[Deewana Mastana]

When you have a team that starts with Azhar and Imam as openers, what would you expect to happen.

Sarfraz has been in bad form for a while and his keeping is suffering too which is not a good sign as he just became captain and winning the CT does not mean these things can be overlooked.

For me has to play at 5 with Malik at 3 and Babar at 4 and push Hafeez to 6 and then Shadab, Faheem and Hasan.

 

[Waqarkhan]

Pakistani batsman never got ajdusted to overseas bouncers and they are slowly adjusting to the conditions but itll be too late..should have prepared for this series rather than playing t10's
2-3 warm up matches minimum when touring overseas in my opinion

 

[New Yorker]

When you have a team that starts with Azhar and Imam as openers, what would you expect to happen.

Sarfraz has been in bad form for a while and his keeping is suffering too which is not a good sign as he just became captain and winning the CT does not mean these things can be overlooked.

For me has to play at 5 with Malik at 3 and Babar at 4 and push Hafeez to 6 and then Shadab, Faheem and Hasan.

just rearranging the batting order won't solve the problem. time to drop azhar hafeez and malik for starters.

 

[PakLFC]

We are always behind the rest when it comes to batting and fitness. It is like chasing a mirage, when we supposedly improve so do the rest so the gap never closes. In defence of the team when we've not played for such a long period it would be difficult just to click like that. It is imperative that we get off to a good start when batting, this rarely happens with the lacklustre Azhar alaways losing is wicket early. Where are all those great ones like Harris Sohail just waiting to come in?? Sadly, this second rate team is the best we have at the moment with the World Cup only about 16 months away. New Zealand are a competitive unit and a very underrated side.

 

[Sirris]

With every series, with every match the picture is getting clearer and clearer. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. Away with the useless seniors and bring in new players.

There's a reason why the likes of Hasan and Shadab show lot of heart and guts. They are young and fresh and haven't developed mental blocks. The seniors on the other have been bullied and dominanted by the opposition for decades, don't expect courage and resilience from them.

Enough is enough!

 

[CadPakFan]

All I can say is that if we change the squad next game we will see the results.

 

[Arham Nawaz]

I would have gone with sahibzada Farhan as the second opener to fakhar. Promote fahim Ashraf to one down because I think babar zaman is a soft player. Sarfaraz at 5 (if he plays he has to come higher). The haris and after that the usual guys

ok you want to bring Sahibzada Farhan out of nowhere at no 3 and in newzealand where all pakistani batsmen usually suffer...i think throwing baber azam out is harsh after just 2 ODIs....he will bounce back

 

[Pete Rose]

ok you want to bring Sahibzada Farhan out of nowhere at no 3 and in newzealand where all pakistani batsmen usually suffer...i think throwing baber azam out is harsh after just 2 ODIs....he will bounce back

I don’t want to throw out babar. And this timidity of not blooding youngsters is why Pakistan are a shambles. Pakistan have a debut to fakhar zaman in ct in England

 

[OmarKhan99]

Games were closer and they've required our best to beat them.

I didn't mean you in particular just others who keep pointing to the rain and hypotheticals to justify results.

To be completely honest, I see a lot of positives from the first 2 games. I think we are just one excellent bowling performance away from lifting as a side and getting back to the winning ways. We are performing in patches but if we could just blood all that together and click as a side, we'll be winning matches. Also, Aman bro, if you watch the match carefully, the rain always arrived at times when Pakistan was gaining momentum...I know we might have still lost the match, but you have to admit that the games would've been much closer if it hadn't showered on unfortunate times. I am expecting Pakistan, in particular, Sarfraz, to bounce back strongly with new strategies...Hopefully.

 

[Itachi]

To be fair, there are probably more new faces in Pakistan than any other team. I don't know how much fresh blood you guys want.

 

[New Yorker]

Pakistan 246/9 (50 ov), New Zealand 151/2 (23.5/25 ov, target: 151)
New Zealand won by 8 wickets (with 7 balls remaining) (D/L method)

View attachment 77986View attachment 77987

People talk as if the batting is all that needs to be fixed. But the bowling barring Hasan has been mediocre so far. Not just have their pacers outbowled ours, so have their spinners. We won the CT by holding teams to 200 something, but have no answer for Guptill and Munro.

 

[MRSN]

To be completely honest, I see a lot of positives from the first 2 games. I think we are just one excellent bowling performance away from lifting as a side and getting back to the winning ways. We are performing in patches but if we could just blood all that together and click as a side, we'll be winning matches. Also, Aman bro, if you watch the match carefully, the rain always arrived at times when Pakistan was gaining momentum...I know we might have still lost the match, but you have to admit that the games would've been much closer if it hadn't showered on unfortunate times. I am expecting Pakistan, in particular, Sarfraz, to bounce back strongly with new strategies...Hopefully.

Yes. We need our bowling to support our legendary batting.lol

 

[Deewana Mastana]

just rearranging the batting order won't solve the problem. time to drop azhar hafeez and malik for starters.

Well now they won't be doing that in the middle of tour, would they?

 

[MRSN]

Well now they won't be doing that in the middle of tour, would they?

middle of tour? less than 12 months from the world cup, do you really think they will go anywhere before the world cup? It's also not helps to have Inzi's dynamic nephew as a backup opener. I am not sure about our chances in the next world cup.

 

[OmarKhan99]

Yes. We need our bowling to support our legendary batting.lol

Bro, you need to read into Pakistan properly. Obviously, the batting is what needs to step up but it's quite known that a particular brilliance with the bowl is what inspires us to go on a roll. We need just need that initial spark and we'll be batting well again.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

middle of tour? less than 12 months from the world cup, do you really think they will go anywhere before the world cup? It's also not helps to have Inzi's dynamic nephew as a backup opener. I am not sure about our chances in the next world cup.

How many times have we been through this where all the 3 names mentioned by that poster have not performed and people have asked them to be dropped. Have they ever been dropped mid tour?

Who will you replace 3 with? Harris Sohail and which other batsmen you have on the bench this tour?

 

[Arham Nawaz]

i am not against Sahib Zada Farhan but Ahmad Shehzad was doing nothing with bat when he was replaced by Fakher Zaman....baber Azam has a Excellent record at no.3 and replacing him at that position by a youngster is same as throwing him out...