Zaman show as Pakistan beat New Zealand

(ESPNCRICINFO) -

When Fakhar Zaman has these kinds of days, there's very little any side can do about it; and what makes him so special is he has days like these with frightening regularity. A third successive ODI hundred - this one a monster century - by Pakistan's premier ODI opener blitzed New Zealand, as he cracked an unbeaten 180 off 144 balls.

It helped his side coast to their second-highest chase in the format, running down New Zealand's 336 with seven wickets and almost two overs to spare. A 135-run stand with Babar Azam, who scored 65, formed the backbone of the chase, while a devastating counter-attacking partnership with Mohammad Rizwan swept the game out of New Zealand's reach.

New Zealand had done plenty of things much better than they did in the first ODI, and yet, this game simply felt like a repeat. Daryl Mitchell scored a hundred, and New Zealand set themselves up for a huge total. And while they did get much further along than they managed in the first ODI by posting 336, a tight final three overs from Pakistan ensured the hosts grabbed some momentum at the death.

And Pakistan began the chase brightly once more, though Matt Henry did strike to remove Imam-ul-Haq in the final over of the powerplay; but the hosts kept coasting at above seven runs an over. Coming in at No. 3, Babar struggled through the first few overs of the innings, scoring just 16 runs in his first 25 balls. Thus, the onus fell on Fakhar to ensure Pakistan remained on top of the asking rate, a burden he fulfilled with aplomb.

The real acceleration came in the 21st over when he launched Ish Sodhi for 17, speeding along to his tenth ODI hundred. He had brought up three figures in 83 balls, before launching Rachin Ravindra for a huge six over midwicket, pressure taken off him as both experienced batters tore chunks out of the bowlers, particularly the inexperienced Ravindra. Fakhar brought up 150 and carried on, while Rizwan's own half-century arrived off the penultimate ball he faced as Pakistan eased to the win in the end.

Earlier, Mitchell's second successive hundred of the series had helped New Zealand to an im - as by now Pakistan were purring. Babar had rediscovered his own touch too with a pair of boundaries against Henry Shipley, and was coasting towards another half-century.

New Zealand ran through the bowling changes but could simply find no way through, until an unforced error from Babar himself provided the breakthrough. He had tonked Sodhi for a six and a four in the 30th over, before a leading edge saw the ball fly up to Chad Bowes at short cover.

The visitors were then provided a glimmer when debutant Abdullah Shafique was prised out by Shipley, but Rizwan hit back with another effective counterattacking knock. It began with a regal cover drive off the first ball and continued with the same elegance. Fakhar had much of the posing total of 336. A 183-run stand for the third wicket between him and his captain Tom Latham was the foundation of New Zealand's biggest ODI total in Pakistan, with Latham's 98 from 85 balls ensuring his partner had plenty of support at the other end.

Unlike the first ODI where New Zealand fell away sharply in the final ten overs thanks to a rock-solid bowling display by Pakistan, there would be less of a let-up at the death this time. New Zealand cranked through the gears in the final few overs to press home the advantage of the dominant position they had worked themselves into by plundering 98 runs in the final ten overs, with their innings featuring Mitchell's career-best 129 off 119 balls.