WELLINGTON – New Zealand ended an 11-match losing streak in emphatic fashion on Saturday, crushing Pakistan by nine wickets in their first one-day international at Westpac Stadium. New Zealand’s opening combination of Jesse Ryder (55) and Martin Guptill (40 not out) made a mockery of the troubles Pakistan had with the drop-in pitch as New Zealand raced to their target of 125 for the loss of one wicket in 17.2 overs.
Ryder and Guptill brought up the first 50 runs inside six overs and were then forced to take the scheduled tea break after New Zealand had earlier bowled the visitors out for 124 in 37.3 overs. Tim Southee took a career-best 5-33, while wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum took five catches in an innings for the fourth time. “Instead of giving any credit to the pitch we should give credit to the New Zealand bowlers, particularly Tim Southee,” Pakistan coach Waqar Younis told reporters.
“He swung the ball and put it in the right areas. Swinging the ball is one thing but putting it in the right areas… we just kept nicking him.” Ryder scored 32 of New Zealand’s first 50 runs with three fours and two sixes prior to the break and continued afterwards bringing up his fourth one-day half century off 31 balls before he was caught on the boundary by Asad Shafiq off Sohail Tanvir. Ross Taylor was 23 not out with Guptill at the end of the game.
“Jesse and Martin like to bat together, they’re good friends… and they played really well and enjoyed playing on that wicket,” New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori said. Pakistan, who had won the toss and opted to bat, never looked comfortable with New Zealand’s pace bowlers getting good bounce, shape and movement away, causing them to prod at deliveries. “It was a really good start,” Vettori added.
“The swing from Tim at the start was the key in putting them under pressure and we never let them up, so a great start for us in the series.” Test captain Misbah-ul-haq was again the mainstay of Pakistan’s batting effort with 50, though the rest of the side failed to build any meaningful partnerships, with both Hamish Bennett and Jacob Oram flirting with hat-tricks. Bennett finished with 3-26 and Oram 2-33. The next match is on Wednesday in Queenstown.
Biggest victory against Pakistan for Kiwis
New Zealand recorded their biggest ever victory in terms of wickets against Pakistan by winning the first of the six match series by nine wickets. New Zealand’s previous biggest victory over Pakistan was by eight wickets, at Dunedin in 1989 and at Napier in 2004.
*New Zealand’s victory with 196 balls to spare was the biggest in terms of balls remaining. Their previous biggest win in terms of balls remaining was 163 balls at Napier on January 14, 2004.
*New Zealand’s victory was their first after 11 successive defeats in ODIs. Their last win came at Dambulla against India on August 10,2010.
*Pakistan recorded their lowest total ever against New Zealand in New Zealand by making 124 in 37.3 overs. It was their second lowest total against New Zealand in ODIs after 116 in 43.1 overs at Dambulla on May 11, 2003. Pakistan’s previous lowest against New Zealand in New Zealand was 126 in 36.3 overs at Napier on January 14, 2004.
* Tim Southee recorded best bowling figures for New Zealand against Pakistan by taking five for 33. Richard Hadlee, who took five wickets for 38 runs at Dunedin on February 6, 1989, held the previous record. It was also Tim Southee’s best bowling figures in limited overs cricket. His previous best was four for 36 against Australia at Wellington on March 13, 2010.
* Misbah’s wicket was Tim Southee’s 50th in 39 one day internationals. He became the 23rd New Zealander and 221st bowler overall to take 50 or more wickets in ODIs.
* Brendon McCullum set a new record of most dismissals in an innings for New Zealand against Pakistan by holding five catches. He shared the previous record with Adam Parore. Adam Parore took four catches at Napier on December 28, 1992 while Brendon McCullum claimed the same number of catches at Dambulla on May 23, 2003. It was the seventh instance when a New Zealand wicket-keeper dismissed five batsmen behind the stumps.
