Watch cricket video highlights of Pakistan Tri-Nation Series 2025. Fourth ODI between Pakistan and New Zealand. Venue of the match will be Karachi.
Copyright – Third Party Reference Inline Linking Embedded Video from Youtube
Report
In spite of injuries to Lockie Ferguson, Ben Sears, Matt Henry, and Rachin Ravindra, New Zealand secured the tri-series title in Karachi, sending a clear message to the hosts just five days before they face off again in the Champions Trophy opener at the same location. With the absence of the senior fast bowlers, Will O’Rourke rose to the occasion with an impressive four-wicket haul, while the spin attack, spearheaded by Mitchell Santner, effectively restricted Pakistan in the middle overs, holding them to 242 runs.
The batters then finished the job on a tricky pitch, successfully pursuing the target with 28 balls to spare and five wickets in hand. After Devon Conway and Kane Williamson established a solid foundation with a 71-run partnership for the second wicket, Daryl Mitchell accelerated in the middle overs, perplexing Pakistan’s spinners with a range of sweeps, including the reverse sweep. He formed an 87-run partnership with Tom Latham, which underscored New Zealand’s superiority during the middle overs, before Michael Bracewell and Glenn Phillips brought the match to a close.
It was Phillips who had launched the tri-series with an unbeaten 106 off 74 deliveries, marking his first ODI century, against Pakistan, followed by Williamson showcasing his brilliance with an unbeaten century of his own in New Zealand’s subsequent match of the tri-series against South Africa. After experiencing consecutive ducks in those two matches—as well as against Sri Lanka in Auckland last month—Latham made a crucial return to form and reaffirmed his position as New Zealand’s primary wicketkeeper-batter with a score of 56 off 64 balls.
Latham received several chances to benefit from his luck – he was dropped by Shaheen Shah Afridi off his own bowling when he was on 15, and then by Saud Shakeel at square leg when he reached 29. Earlier, when he had scored 13, legspinner Abrar Ahmed struck him on the pads, but he was not given out lbw. Pakistan missed an opportunity by not opting for a review, as ball-tracking suggested the ball had pitched in line and would have hit the stumps.
Abrar, who is Pakistan’s specialist spinner, struggled to make an impact and went for 67 runs in his ten overs. In sharp contrast, New Zealand’s leading spinner, Santner, proved difficult to score against, delivering his most economical ten-over spell in ODI cricket. Forty of his 60 deliveries were dots, and Santner skillfully varied his pace from the mid-70s kph to the mid-90s kph range with exceptional control. Bracewell also maintained pressure, ending with figures of 2 for 38 in his ten overs.
The initial powerplay foreshadowed Pakistan’s sluggish approach. The hosts recorded 48 dot balls during the powerplay, reaching only 48 for 2, and struggled to maintain a high tempo throughout the innings. After dodging a series of short deliveries from Fakhar Zaman with his sharp angle from over the wicket, including two wides to the off-side, O’Rourke delivered a fuller ball that lured the opener into chipping a catch to square leg for 10 off 15 balls.
Babar Azam ignited the Karachi crowd when he square drove Jacob Duffy for four and became the joint fastest player to reach 6000 ODI runs, accomplishing this in his 123rd innings, a milestone shared with Hashim Amla. However, Nathan Smith, the seam-bowling allrounder, dampened the celebration by having Babar lob a return catch for 29 off 34 balls in his first over. Pakistan’s captain Mohammad Rizwan needed 13 balls to open his account, followed by four additional balls to hit the boundary.
At the other end, Salman Agha appeared more fluent, finding gaps in the field as the two created an 88-run partnership for the fourth wicket. The stand ultimately concluded when O’Rourke resumed his attack, resulting in Rizwan edging a cross-seamer that kept low on him, scoring 46 off 76 deliveries. After delivering hard lengths along with high speed and bounce early on, O’Rourke demonstrated that he could also be effective with the older ball. Almost five overs later, Bracewell had Agha misplaying a reverse sweep to short third, leaving Pakistan at 161 for 5 in the 37th over.
Tayyab Tahir provided a boost to the innings with his 38 runs off 33 balls, but Duffy ended his innings in the 42nd over. Tahir was the lone batter in Pakistan’s top seven to maintain a strike rate above 100. In the final eight overs, New Zealand allowed only four boundaries, restricting Pakistan to 242. The new ball offered significantly more movement under the lights, with Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi utilizing the swing and seam available to exert pressure on Conway and Williamson.
During the initial powerplay of the chase, the broadcaster displayed a graphic comparing the average swing achieved in both innings. New Zealand’s seamers recorded 1.5 degrees of swing, while Pakistan’s achieved 2.4 degrees. The seasoned duo of Conway and Williamson weathered that pressure effectively, and as the ball aged and softened, they effectively tackled Pakistan’s spinners. Williamson dispatched Agha’s offspin over mid-off, while Conway scored freely against Abrar and Khushdil Shah through the covers.
When Williamson attempted to lob Agha over the infield again, the ball dipped and turned, resulting in his dismissal for 34 off 49 balls. Conway fell just short of his half-century, but New Zealand’s middle order proved to be too skilled for Pakistan to handle. New Zealand is expected to be further bolstered by the potential return of Ravindra and Ferguson for the Champions Trophy opener on Wednesday.
