New Zealand recover from poor start to beat Pakistan in opening one-dayer

Posted Monday, January 25, 2016 by PA

New Zealand were let off the hook by Pakistan as they fought back to win the first one-day international in Wellington by 70 runs.

The Black Caps collapsed to 99 for six batting first before some late-innings hitting from Henry Nicholls, who top scored with 82, Matt Henry and Mitchell McClenaghan got them up to 280 for eight after their 50 overs.

And then some impressive bowling, namely four for 40 from Trent Boult and three for 43 from Grant Elliott, ensured Pakistan's response never gained any momentum and, despite Babar Azam's 62, they were restricted to 210 all out in 46 overs.

Pakistan bowler Mohammed Amir played his first ODI since serving his ban for match-fixing and was the pick of the bowlers, taking three for 28 off 8.1 overs before injury curtailed his spell.

When Amir was in full swing in the opening hour of the game, Pakistan were well on top and any hopes New Zealand had of getting above 200 were far-fetched as they floundered to 99 for six in the 23rd over.

Pakistan did well to remove the dangerous Martin Guptill for just 11 in the fifth over and when Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Elliott, Corey Anderson and Luke Ronchi all followed cheaply, the tourists were firmly on top.

But that is when the Black Caps' recovery started as Nicholls and Mitchell Santner put on 79 for the seventh wicket, Nicholls passing his fifty off 71 balls.

When Santner departed for 48 with the score on 178 for seven, it brought Henry to the crease and the tail-ender swung the innings in New Zealand's favour.

The right-hander plundered four fours and four sixes in a 30-ball 48 not out and, after Nicholls departed 18 short of a century, was ably assisted by McClenaghan at the other end.

McClenaghan cleared the boundary twice and struck three fours before having to retire hurt on 31 after a nasty bouncer from Anwar Ali lodged inside his helmet. The bowler left the field with a black eye and swelling on his face.

The damage was already done, leaving Pakistan chasing far more than they should have been, and their response began at pedestrian pace as they limped to 37 for the loss of openers Azhar Ali and Ahmed Shehzad after 11 overs.

Babar's 62 off 76 balls and a 56-ball 42 from Mohammad Hafeez kept the scoreboard ticking over, but a steady fall of wickets left Pakistan needing 105 off the final 10 overs with just four wickets remaining.

That was never on the cards and New Zealand picked up the final four wickets in the space of 17 balls to complete an easy win.

McClenaghan did not take the field for the hosts and went straight to hospital, later posting a picture on Twitter showing a heavily swollen left eye and cut on his eyebrow.

He added on the social media site: "Thanks for all the concerns. Everything is as good as it can be just a few broken bones. Great win for the boys!"