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QUEENSTOWN (New
Zealand): Imran Farhat and Yousuf Youhana combined in a
143-run stand of classic elegance and control as Pakistan
cruised to a convincing six-wicket win over New Zealand here
Wednesday to level the one-day cricket series one-all.
New Zealand knew their 235-7
was going to be difficult to defend, and Pakistan picked it
off with ease, posting 236-4 with three overs to spare.
Although Yasir Hameed and Saleem Elahi fell cheaply, and
Pakistan were 52-2 after 14 overs, the result never looked in
doubt when Youhana joined Farhat at the crease.
Farhat, curbing his natural
attacking instincts at first, coolly accumulated runs as
required through his favoured off-side and with some helpful
offerings on the leg stump. He faced 104 balls for his 87,
which included eight fours and a six, and was out with the
score at 195 and the result not in doubt.
Between them, Farhat and
Youhana put on 143 runs in 25 overs after Youhana had also
started slowly and waited 14 balls before getting off the mark
by hitting Chris Cairns over the bowler's head for the first
of his 10 boundaries. Youhana was unbeaten on 88 using his
command of wrist control to cut, pull and drive the New
Zealand attack to all points of the boundary. New Zealand's
troublesome death bowling, which saw Pakistan slay 102 runs in
the final 10 overs in the first one-dayer, was not to be
tested this time.
Daryl Tuffey was again the
pick of the bowlers with one for 28 off 10 while a
disappointing Cairns went for 28 off four and Daniel Vettori
couldn't contain in the middle as he took one for 58 off 10.
When Inzamam-ul-Haq won the toss for Pakistan and elected to
bowl, although without Shoaib Akhtar who remains sidelined
with a groin injury, Mohammad Sami and Shabbir Ahmed
vindicated their captain's decision.
Within 15 overs New Zealand
had 53 runs on the board and three batsmen back in the
pavillion. "The bowlers contained the New Zealand batsmen very
well ... and the team has been doing very well chasing runs,"
Pakistan coach Javid Miandad said. "In this country the first
hour always helps the fast bowlers, the same thing in the last
game, then later the wicket becomes better."
New Zealand captain Stephen
Fleming said the pitch was tricky early on but that wasn't an
excuse for the batting woes. "It certainly set us back, we
didn't get key partnerships going and the scoreboard reflects
it with a series of 20-run partnerships," he said. "The pitch
just held fractionally which made it hard work, but that aside
we just lost wickets at key times."
When New Zealand were 112-6,
with the top order all gone, a sub-150 score was on the cards
until all-rounder Jacob Oram and Brendan McCullum added 91
runs for the seventh wicket to give the score some
respectability. They added 91 runs in 17 overs before Oram was
bowled by Sami for 54 while McCullum remained unbeaten on 55
from 51 balls.
Allrounder Abdul Razzaq was
the most accurate Pakistan bowler with one for 24 off 10,
while Sami suffered in a McCullum onslaught at the end to
finish with three for 51. The third match in the series is in
Christchurch on Saturday.
SCORECARD
New Zealand
C. Cumming lbw Sami 0
S. Fleming c Sami b Malik 43
H. Marshall c Youhana b Shabbir Ahmed 10
S. Styris c Youhana b Mahmood 10
C McMillan c Khan b Malik 25
C Cairns b Razzaq 9
J. Oram b Sami 54
B. McCullum not out 55
D. Vettori b Sami 9
D. Tuffey not out 3
Extras lb3, w13, nb1 17
Total for eight wickets 235
Fall of wickets 1-1, 2-25, 3-53, 4-79, 5-104, 6-112,
7-203, 8-218
Bowling Sami 10-0-51-3, Shabbir Ahmed 10-1-43-1, Mahmood
10-0-69-1,
Razzaq 10-1-24-1, Malik 10-0-45-2
Overs 50
Pakistan
Y. Hameed c Oram b Butler 2
I. Farhat c McMillan b Vettori 87
S. Elahi c McCullum b Oram 14
Y. Youhana not out 88
Inzamam-ul-Haq c McCullum b Tuffey 14
Malik not out 9
Extras lb8, w13, nb1 22
Total for four wickets 236
Fall of wickets 1-14, 2-52, 3-195, 4-224
Bowling Tuffey 10-3-28-1, Butler 10-0-49-1, Oram 9-0-36-1,
Cairns 4-0-28-0, Vettori 10-0-58-1,
Styris 3-0-16-0, McMillan 1-0-12-0
Overs 47
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