Pakistan Vs New Zealand Cricket Series 2018 Round-Up

Pakistan Vs. New Zealand cricket series 2018 kick-started on January 8. An impressive start by Kiwis didn’t prove sufficient to make the game exciting due to rain. The match ended after New Zealand won by 61 runs by DL (Duckworth- Lewis) method.
Dull end of the game, apart, New Zealand made a good start from the first match of the series. Here is a round-up of the first game.

Tim Southee’s outstanding performance

New Zealand owes to the fast-medium bowler Tim Southee, who ensured the Pakistani batsmen went back to pavilion without making the notable addition to the scoreboard. In two successive deliveries on the first over Southee made Babar Azam and Azhar Ali leave the ground due to an LBW out. The man was not lucky enough to do a hat-trick. But he also sent Shoaib Malik to go back to the pavilion after making only 13 runs. Due to such a stunning performance by Southee, Trent Boult dismissed Muhammad Hafeez with a bouncer. Consequently, Pakistan lost its four batsmen to Kiwis at a much lower score of 37, making it difficult to achieve the target of 315 runs.

New Zealand won the rain-affected 1st ODI in Wellington, but will Pakistan be able to respond in Nelson to level things up? #NZvPAK #cricket #lovecricket #NewZealand #Pakistan #ODI

A post shared by ICC (@icc) on Jan 8, 2018 at 5:25am PST

Batting in the first match of Pakistan- New Zealand Series

Along with its bowler, New Zealand’s batsmen also made a significant contribution the first win of its team in 2018. Kane Williamson played an outstanding inning, where he made 115 runs on 117 balls. The batsman also accomplished his 10th ODI century with the help of eight fours and one six. Perhaps, these were the windy weather conditions that made Pakistani batsmen fall badly. On its behalf, only Fakhar Zaman produced 82 runs and remained in the ground till the end. Fakhar also led Pakistan to win ICC Champions Trophy 2017 final, due to his century. Pakistan was 166-6 when the rain hit and players had to leave the ground.

Next Matches of the Pakistan-New Zealand Series

Pakistan team’s morale is high for winning the Champions Trophy 2017. The unpleasant weather condition made the team to not perform so well at Basin Reserve, Wellington. Well, the fans can look forward to the other exciting games.
Here is a schedule of rest of the event.

• New Zealand Vs. Pakistan Cricket Series 2018 Schedule
• 2nd ODI, Jan 9, at Saxton Oval, Nelson
• 3rd ODI, Jan 13, University Oval, Dunedin
• 4th ODI, Jan 16, Seddon Park, Hamilton
• 5th ODI, Jan 19, Basin Reserve, Wellington
• 1st T 20, Jan 22, Westpac Stadium, Wellington
• 2nd T 20, Jan 25, Eden Park, Auckland
• 3rd T 20, Jan 28, Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui